Father of Mine
by Dr. Eminem
Summary: Jack's estranged father comes back into his life and so does the trouble. His father: A well off exsenator? and ambasodor to South Africa? still not sure on these. jack sits outside his house christams day for a few hours watching his new happy family.
1. Chapter 1

He sat outside the house he had already seen the family come and go. He spent all of Christmas outside the house watching the other family happily go about their Christmas day, like most normal families. He had his phone on vibrate and had gotten a few calls from his sister wondering where he was. Where could he be on Christmas he should be with his family not in the car watching this other family? He was getting ready to leave when the old grey haired man approached the car clearly angry.

"Who are you and why are you watching my house?" The old man said banging on the window of the car.

Jack felt his heart sink he rolled down the window letting the cold air come into the car, "Hello." Jack said knowing the man had no clue who he was.

"Who are you and why are you watching my house?" The man said letting his anger down some, he knew this man from somewhere.

"I'm no one I'm sorry. I didn't mean to watch your house. I was just zoning out. I'll leave." Jack said starting the car.

"Wait a second do I know you from somewhere?" The old man asked.

"I doubt it." Jack said backing out of the parking spot leaving the man staring at the car retreating. Jack had not been paying attention to the radio or what channel he had on, but he assumed it was one that played newer music when he heard the young voice come over the radio.

Father of mine  
Tell me where have you been  
You know I just closed my eyes  
My whole world disappeared  
Father of mine  
Take me back to the day  
When I was still your golden boy  
Back before you went away 

Jack thought to himself, another great Christmas with, yet another failed attempt. Why was he so scared of the man? How could the man not even know who he was? Was he that different? No he wasn't why did he come here every year and never do anything? The man had no right to know who he was now, he gave that up a long time ago, and he has a happy family now. No room for Jack, nor a need for him. Jack felt the tears stream down his face as he drove through the city towards his sisters house where Kim would be waiting for him.

I remember blue skies  
Walking the block  
I loved it when you held me high  
I loved to hear you talk  
You would take me to the movie  
You would take me to the beach  
You would take me to a place inside  
That is so hard to reach  


Jack was refilling his car when another car pulled in behind him. He found it a bit odd because everyone was home with their families, or should be and here he was. He saw the man step out of the red Porsche and look at him. It was the gray hair man from earlier. Jack moved nervously towards the inside to pay for the gas.

The man called to him, "Jack?" He was still not sure if it was him, he had only seen him as young as the age of three and never again after that.

"No. You have me mistaken for someone else sir." Jack said walking in the gestation never turning back to look at him. Jack was not sure why he lied, and a part of him wish he had not. Jack finished paying for his gas and was cornered by the gray haired man at the only door to get into the place or out.

"Are you sure you aren't Jack?" The man asked almost sure it had to be him.

Jack didn't know what to say, his eyes didn't betray anything and for a minute the man thought he had been completely wrong until Jack shook his head unable to speak.

"What do you want? Money?" The man asked saying the words harsher than he wanted to.

"No I don't want anything from you." Jack said pushing past the gray hair man roughly.

"Jack I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way." The man called after him chasing after Jack. "How did you find me?"

Jack smiled at himself opening the door to his car, CTU had been good for something. He found him shortly after he started there. He read his personal file and found they had found him already before Jack had. Jack had to do some minor follow up work because he had moved, but he was not to hard to track. Jack drove away looking back once to see the man staring at him.  
  
  
Father of mine  
Tell me where did you go  
You had the world inside your hand  
But you did not seem to know  
Father of mine  
Tell me what do you see  
When you look back at your wasted life  
And you don't see me  


The man watched Jack drive away. He thought about following him some more, but what could he do? Could you really get almost thirty some odd years back. God he didn't even know how old the man was. He drove back to his house he had worked so hard to get. He walked inside and his wife called, "Where did you guy honey? And who was that young man outside?"

"I ran to the gestation. Wanted to see if they had something to cure my sweet tooth. The man outside?" He said confused.

"Yeah the young man you talked to in the SUV?"

"OH just someone wanting directions." He smiled and kissed her wondering where that young man was now.

Jack pulled up to his sisters house and walked up to the door. He knocked twice and than the door opened.

"Jack where have you been all day?" She said worried.

"Sorry some work stuff. I got here as quick as I could." Jack said walking inside smiling at her.

"At least you made it. Kim was getting ready to send out the search party for you. Supper is already done. Come in we were just eating." She said grabbing him by the arm and pulling him into the house to the dining room. He saw Kim's face light up when he walked in. He smiled at her and sat down apologizing to everyone.

"Where were you dad?" Kim asked.

"Something came up at work. I'm sorry I had to check on something than I came directly here." Jack lied Kim did not need to know what he was doing nor did his younger sister.

"I can't believe they needed you on Christmas." His sister said not understanding Jack wanted to drop the topic.

"It was something I had to check on that's all." Jack said, "I'm here now. So lets do this thing."

Everyone looked at him, Jack had never been known for his love of Christmas. As a matter of fact he had been compared to scrouge more than once. The only thing that ever brought a smile to his face that day was when Kim would open her gifts and she had snooped through them all, but didn't find the one big one. Jack would conviently hide somewhere she couldn't find it and she'd open it and her eyes would light up. He loved that look and held on to it to get him through he holiday season he hated so much. No one but Jack knew why he hated Christmas so much, and he would not share that piece of information with anyone.

When they all finished stuffing themselves with ham and other food they all sat in the living room around the small fire in the fire place. Jack got lost in his thoughts watching the fire and everyone had noticed. Especially after Kim had said, "Dad open your gift." And he did not respond.

Kim touched him gently and brought him out of his trance. "Sorry I was thinking about something." Kim smiled thinking he was thinking of her mother who had passed away years ago. "Open your gift Dad." She said handing it to him.

Jack opened the gift, he could tell by the shape it was a book. When he got the wrapping paper off he smiled. It was a copy of _Walden. _ He had always loved the book. He smiled at Kim and hugged her.

"That's not all dad." She said walking out of the room and to the back of the house. "Now I know you live all alone in your apartment right now. And Chase and I thought you could use a companion. So we got you a mail order bride." Kim said opening the back room door as a small brown puppy ran out towards the room.

Jack almost laughed it was like the dog he had as a child. He knew his sister must have helped in picking it out. The dog jumped up to him already taking to his new master. Jack smiled and petted the dog.

"The mail order bride would have been better than a b!tch." Chase said laughing at Jack who was petting the dog his eyes lighting up.

Kim smacked Chase, "It's a he."

Jack smiled at his daughter and said genuinely happy, "Thank you."

"You don't know how hard it was to get that damn dog." Chase began. "I had him in the back of the car one day when you stopped me outside the store. I had just got him from the pound and you happen to be at the store. I about freaked." Chase said remembering having to lie to Jack and getting the cautious glance Jack always gave him when he thought he was lying.

"Thank you guys." Jack said smiling happily.

"What are you going to name him dad?" Kim asked.

"I was thinking of Chase." Jack joked

"Oh great. So you can sleep with me at night isn't it Jack?" Chase joked.

"He better not." Kim said sitting on Chase's lap.

"And you two better not be either." Jack said.

"us never Jack." Chase said suddenly worried.

"Rufus." Jack said. He had always loved the name.

"Rufus." Kim said sitting on the couch petting the small puppy.

The night had finished finally. Everyone said goodbye and they promised to meet before Thanksgiving, but they all knew it wouldn't happen with their busy schedules. Jack and Rufus left the house. Rufus rode shotgun with Jack sticking his head out the window the entire time. The radio like always playing the same song from earlier.

  
I was ten years old  
Doing all that I could  
It wasn't easy for me  
To be a scared white boy  
In a black neighborhood  
Sometimes you would send me a birthday card  
With a five dollar bill  
I never understood you then  
And I guess I never will  


Jack's feeling of happiness fading as the song reminded him of what he had lost so many years ago. When they got to the apartment Rufus followed him inside. Rufus searched around the place and ended up on Jack's bed. Jack walked into the room and lay next to him. Petting him unconsciously the dog rolled over onto his back so that his master could pet his stomach. Jack pet his stomach and thought about going back to the house tomorrow and finally confronting the man. He rolled over and hit the snooze button on his alarm clock so it would play music.

  
Daddy gave me a name  
Daddy gave me a name  
Then he walked away  
Daddy gave me a name  
Then he walked away  
My daddy gave me a name  
  
Father of mine  
Tell me where have you been  
I just closed my eyes  
And the world disappeared  
Father of mine  
Tell me how do you sleep  
With the children you abandoned  
And the wife I saw you beat  


Jack was almost asleep when he heard a knock on the door. He pushed himself off the bed and saw that Rufus was asleep already. Jack walked out to the door clearly tired. He opened the door expecting it to be Kim dropping whatever had got the dog in the past few days. Instead it was the gray hair man looking guilty. Jack wanted to close the door in his face but didn't. "What do you want?" Jack asked in a normal voice lacking all human emotions.

"I'm sorry." The man said looking at the man that stood in front of him.

"How did you find me?" Jack said walking away from the door.

"I have my connections." He said walking into the darken apartment. He studied it for awhile, it was dark and lonely he thought right off the bat. There were very few decorations and those that were up were not very inviting. He noticed a small picture on the table and saw two women and Jack all smiling. Jack walked into the kitchen needing a drink to calm his nerves. He opened the cupboard and pulled down the bottle of scotch. He asked, "Would you like some scotch?"

"Please." The man called.

Jack walked back out with two cups of scotch handing one to the man. Jack gulped his down quickly and set the glass on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room/dining room. "What do you want?" Jack asked again having his nerves about him.

"I wanted to apologize."

"A little late." Jack said still in a normal voice.

"I know. But you must have wanted something. That wasn't the first time you sat outside my house." The man called him out on it.

Jack looked away and saw Rufus coming down the hallway looking around again. Jack petted him and than pushed him back down the hallway closing him in the bedroom. "Is that all you wanted?" Jack asked.

I will never be safe  
I will never be sane  
I will always be weird inside  
I will always be lame  
Now I'm a grown man  
With a child of my own  
And I swear I'm not going to let her know  
All the pain I have known 

"Can I try to make up for it?" The man asked looking at his son.

"You can't make up for the past. Forty years you can't make up forty years and besides I have a family now."

"Where are they?" The man asked knowing that no family lived in this apartment.

"My daughter, Kim, is with her boyfriend at his parents house."

"And your wife?" The man asked knowing Jack had a wife from the picture.

"She died a few years ago." Jack said looking at the picture.

"Your mother?"

"She's been dead for sometime." Jack said. She had died when he was sixteen and before she died she had asked the man before him to take Jack, but he refused. So Jack was left alone with his stepfather and his little sister.

"I'm sorry about your wife and your mother." The man said not knowing any of the information. "When did your mother die?"

"When I was sixteen." Jack said coldly.

The man was happy to finally get some emotion out of his son. "What do you do for a living? You do work right?" He always said the wrong thing. He saw the anger over take Jack's face when he added the you do work part.

"I worked for the CIA for awhile. I'm on a vacation right now." Jack said not wanting to get into the details.

"The CIA. Huh?" His father asked looking at the man standing before him.

"I hate to cut your little try to make up time short, but I have someone coming over soon." Jack lied no one was coming to visit him. Kate had left him a long time ago and there had been no one else since.

"Oh I'm sorry." The man said goodbye and left his son. Jack closed the door and went back to his room he sat with the dog and felt like crying, but didn't he was a man and men didn't cry.

Then he walked away  
Daddy gave me a name  
Then he walked away  
My dad gave me a name  
Then he walked away  
My daddy gave me a name  
Then he walked away  
My daddy gave me a name  
Then he walked away  
Then he walked away  
Then he walked away


	2. Chapter 2

Jack awoke the next day. He stretched seeing the dog next to him. He asked, "You got to go out?"

The dog ran with him to the door. Jack did not have a dog leash so he left the dog and ran to a pet store near by to by a leash. He returned and put the leash on Rufus. Jack and Rufus walked outside and down the street after Rufus finished, all of his business Jack started to jog, Rufus keeping up with him, causing Jack to run faster as the little puppy had more energy than he had. They ran through the park and back to his apartment. Once he reached the apartment, his father was outside waiting for him. Jack was covered in sweat and clearly out of breath. Rufus was still ready to run more, but stopped when he felt his master pull on his leash.

"What can I do for you?" Jack said taking out of his keys and opening the door to the apartment.

"I wanted to know more about you."

"Too bad." Jack said walking away.

"Well if your file is true and you actually did half the things you did than I'm amazed." His father called back.

Jack turned around clearly mad, "How did you get my file? It's classified." Jack was worried that he would have read about his heroin problem.

"I got some of it from a source in the government." His father answered.

"Did you enjoy it?" Jack asked bitterly walking away closing the door behind him.

His father opened the door and walked into the house, "Some of it. I'm sorry about how your wife died."

Jack glared at him ready to attack, but holding himself back. "What do you want?"

"To know you Jack. I screwed up so many years ago. I know I did and I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. We were all much better off with you not in the picture." Jack said staring at him lying to himself and the man in front of him.

"I'm sorry. I read what happened to you growing up. I now understand why your mother had begged me so many times to take you away from her. I just thought you were a troubled child she didn't want to deal with. I'm sorry Jack."

"You know nothing." Jack said. "now leave." Jack looked at the door his eyes full of pain for the first time.

"I would love to meet Kim some day."

"Too bad." Jack said his anger seething through.

"Why are you so angry at me?"

"YOU LEFT ME!" Jack screamed his anger taking control as that first adrinline rush went through his body. The small rational part of his mind saying, no turning back now.

"I had to." The man said.

"Oh you had to? Let me guess it was for my own good. NO it was because you didn't want to deal with a child. You weren't man enough."

"I wasn't at that time. I was only a kid myself. And I had a career ahead of me a political career and they would have frowned on me marrying a woman from the wrong side of town and also having a child so early."

"Great excuse. I'm so going to let you back in my life now." Jack said sarcastically with anger still clear in his voice.

"It was a stupid reason I see that now. I would love if you came over and meant my wife and my other children."

"No thanks. I don't want anything to do with you." Jack said coldly.

"Than why did you sit outside my house?"

Jack looked away he had him on that point. "Just go. Please." Jack said. Jack froze as the door opened and Kim came in with Chase behind her.

"Oh I didn't know you had company dad." Kim said hugging him and walking into the kitchen to try to cook something.

"He was just leaving." Jack said taking the edge out of his voice.

"Sorry to disturb you. Please think about it." The man said walking out of the apartment.

Chase looked at the man and noticed the resemblance but wasn't going to say anything. He knew if Jack wanted them to know he would have told them.

"Who was that dad?" Kim called.

"No one. Just someone I knew in the past."

Chase looked at Jack and smiled. Jack figured he knew something was up and moved on. Chase petted Rufus and Jack walked into the kitchen. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit too?"

"Wanted to check on Rufus, and I figured I'd cook breakfast for you." Kim said smiling. "Go take a shower you smell."

"Why thanks honey." Jack said wrapping her in his arms and she pushed him away.

"Dad that's gross." Kim said. "Chase."

"I am not helping you he chopped my hand off once." Chase said jokingly.

"See Chase is almost a smart guy." Jack said walking out of the room to the shower forgetting all about his father.

Once her father was out of earshot she asked, "Do you know who that man was?"

"No. Not a clue." Chase said.

Kim could tell he was lying. "Fine don't tell me. You just wait and see." Kim said turning away from him.

"Kim if he doesn't want you to know how can I tell you. I do not know for sure anyways." He said trying to get himself out of trouble.

"Are you going to ask him today?"

"I will when I get a chance." Chase said kissing her on the neck and moving away quickly when he heard Jack coming.

"Thank you." Jack said taking a plate from Kim and sitting down at the counter. Chase joined him and was handed a plate from Kim who made her own than sat down to eat also.

"So who was that?" Kim started in again.

"I already told you just someone from the past."

"Did you work with him?"

"No." Jack said eating some food. "How is work at CTU now a days?" Jack said trying to change the subject.

"A little strange now that Tony and Michelle are both gone. Hammond is riding everyone and there is small talk about overthrowing him." Kim joked.

Chase smiled, "Glad we are on a little hiatus."

"Yeah." Jack said staying focused on the conversation. He wanted to have Kim find out who had given his father access to his file, but he knew it would only bring more questions up about who the man was.

They all finished and Jack walked Kim and Chase out to the car, saying goodbye. Jack had to run to the pet store to pick some food up and a bowl for Rufus. As he walked towards the store he saw the car following him. It had circled the block a few times, and Jack thought about what his options were, he wasn't sure who it was. Finally, the car pulled over when Jack walked into the store.

Jack went to the back of the store quickly trying to get a view of all the little pet store so he could see the person enter if they did. He saw his father walk in and Jack moved quickly through the store grabbing what he needed and tried avoiding the man. Unfortunately, he had not escape when he was getting ready to check out.

"At least give me a few minutes Jack." His father said showing some sort of emotion.

"I don't have a few minutes." Jack said paying and walking away.

His father followed him back down the three blocks to Jack's apartment. He followed Jack inside this time without invite. Jack set the bowl down on the ground and filled it with dog food. He grabbed a cup and filled the other side of the bowl full of water ignoring the man the entire time.

"Jack I'm sorry. There is nothing I can do to make it up. But I would like to get to know you and your family."

"You got my file. What else is there to know?" Jack said walking away angry. He had no where to go he was in his own house, but he couldn't very well leave with the man also in it.

"I'm sure there is much more to you than just your file." His father said finally grabbing a hold of Jack and holding him in one spot forcing Jack to face him and look him in the eyes. What the man saw reflected through Jack's eyes was a cold dead nothingness that scared him, but than he remembered what he had read about Jack about how good he was at certain things, that had even creped him out a little bit.

"Nothing worth know." Jack said yanking himself away. "I'm sorry I have a lot to do this afternoon could you please leave."

"Was that your daughter and her boyfriend?"

"Yes that was Kim and Chase."

"What happened to his hand?"

Jack looked away guilt over taking him, "Occupational hazard." Jack answered.

"What do you have to do? Go shoot up? Are you still a drug addict?" Once he said it he knew he had said the wrong thing. Especially when he saw the anger run through his sons eyes, he thought they might actually have sparked and turned to a colder blue color than they already where.

"Leave now." Jack said trying to control his anger. "You know nothing about me or what I've done and you have no right to judge me. Nor do you have the right to know me."

"I know more about you Jack Bauer than you would probably like." His father challenged him. "I know about all the missions you've been all. How your co-worker who you had an affair with killed your wife and unborn child, how you killed your boss last year on the order of the president, and so much more."

"Than you know everything there is to know about me. Now get out before I push you out." Jack threatened moving quickly and easily towards the man.

"Fine. I'll be back once we've both cooled off." His father left feeling horrible for all he had said and done. What was he doing this man was his son, not an opponent.

Jack watched him walk out and leave again. He felt as if he was remembering the last time he had walked out, but Jack knew he was to young to have a real memory of it. Jack slammed the door close and walked into the living room and sat on the couch putting his head in his hands. He felt like killing someone at the moment the way his father had treated him the question about his drug addiction, he knew he would never live it down. His father had saw the weakness in him right off the bat and without knowing him already judged him. Even if Jack had thought of having a relationship with him before it no longer was possible because the man had known so much about him and so little all in the same time.

Jack got off the couch hours later and went for a walk outside. He didn't know where to go or what to do there was nothing really left for him to do. He had no job, so he couldn't go to work, he had no friends really so he couldn't visit them, and what was left of his family was at work. That left him with nothing. He saw a music store and walked inside. He needed to get some new strings for his guitar. He searched the string section till he found the strings he wanted and than he moved on to the CD's. He wasn't sure what he was looking for something knew. He had been playing the same old music over and over and thought maybe a newer group would be nice to try. He scratched his head and clerk came over, "how may I help you sir?"

"Well I'm looking for a new group to listen to." Jack asked looking at the names of the groups.

The woman clerk smiled at him, "Sir I would recommend _Shinedown_. They did a great cover of Simple Man. And they are an upcoming group."

Jack took the CD from her looked at it and decided what the hell. "Thanks." Jack said smiling and walking to the counter to pay for his strings and new CD. He left the store and walked back to his house. Once he got inside Rufus was at the door ready to go out again. It was already evening. Jack found the leash and put it on him and walked him to the park and beyond.

Jack walked aimlessly for awhile until he heard someone call his name finally.

"Jack?"

Jack turned around being taken out of his thought. He saw Kate standing there in here running clothes. "Hi. How have you been?" He asked smiling being friendly.

"Good who is this?"

"This is Rufus. Kim got him for me." Jack said looking down at his dog.

"Hi Rufus. What are you doing all the way over here?" Kate asked hoping Jack was doing better than when she left him.

"I was walking Rufus and lost track of time I guess." Jack said feeling embarrassed he had been in such deep thought that he walked so far away from his apartment.

"SO how have you been? Still working at CTU?"

"I've been really good, and I'm on vacation from CTU." Jack said still smiling lying a little, but Kate didn't need to know everything.

"We'll have to have supper than one night catch up. I really missed talking with you." Kate said smiling at him thinking maybe he had changed finally.

"That would be nice. I better get back to my side of town now." Jack said. He walked away with Rufus and turned back to see Kate start jogging away again. When Jack turned around again he was meant with the butt of a hand gun. The force of the blow to his head sent him to the ground, he felt the blood leak down. He was dazed for a second and tried to sit up but the butt of the hand gun meant his head again and Jack feel back to the ground unconscious. Rufus attacked the man but was thrown off quickly.

Another man grabbed Jacks inert body of the ground and carried it to the van waiting not to far from there. Rufus tried to follow but was kicked away. The van took off and no one noticing what happened besides the homeless woman who thought the government had gotten another one, and she went along her merry way to hide from the aliens that were reading her thoughts.

In the van the men put duct tape on Jack's mouth, a bandana securely over his eyes, and than tapped his hands behind his back. They searched him quickly pulling out his wallet, keys, and cell phone. They looked at the cell phone to see if he had any people in his phone book. No one was listed, which was not odd for a man in his work. Putting the phone in a bag with everything else the men watched the unconscious figure on the floor.

Kate turned back a few minutes after she saw Jack thinking about him the entire time she jogged away. She found it to be a metaphor for their relationship she had run from him. Most of her friends and other people believed it was the other way around, but in fact she had been the one to leave him and he just simply agreed letting her do what she needed to do. She remembered the pain look in his eyes when she asked him to move out. He did so and never looked back or she never looked for him till the day she found the leather coat in her house, and than she lost contact with him after that. She was going back after him to talk to him when she found the dog that looked a lot like Rufus whimpering almost where she left Jack. She walked over to the dog who sat there whimpering. She saw the blood on his leash and quickly raised her hand to her mouth. She looked at the tags and he had gotten his shots recently, new dogs get their shots before they go to their new owner. This had to be Rufus. She instantly grabbed her phone out of her pocket and called the police. She bent down to pet Rufus who snapped at her first than let her pet him. She became insanely worried about Jack, who clearly had to be hurt, with the blood on the least and Rufus not having any cuts.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack awoke his feet cuffed to something. He tried to move his hands, but they were restrained behind his back and he felt the tape over his mouth and saw the bandana over his eyes. He was on a cement floor he knew that much and he felt the pain in his head. It felt as if he had drank way to much recently and he had the hangover of all hangovers. He lifted his head towards the noise he heard as if he would be able to see what was happening.

"I see you are awake. Sorry about the way my men treated you, but we were warned about how good you were." The man said looking at the man on the floor. "What did Robert Perrin tell you?" The man asked walking over to Jack and pulling the tape off his mouth.

"Who is Robert Perrin?" Jack answered knowing who it was but not sure who he was to this man.

"The man who visited you today, and followed you yesterday away from his house." The man said loosing his patience with the man on the floor.

"Nothing." Jack said not really wanting to get into the specifics with a complete stranger who just abducted him.

The man kicked him harshly in his open rib cage. He looked at the man on the ground who just grunted when his foot connected. "You aren't going to talk to me are you?" He said smiling at the man who lay on the floor defenseless. "Fine." Jack felt someone grab his tapped feet off the ground and tie a rope around them. He felt himself hoisted off the ground and than he dangled by his ankles upside down.

"I'd let me go before I get really pissed." Jack said coldly.

"Too bad. I need answers to my questions." The man said trying to find something to use. Finding nothing he said, "I got to make a run to the store you just hang here I'll be back soon." He left the room.

Jack wasn't sure how long he was gone, it seemed like awhile and his head was already pounding worse from the blood flowing down to his head. He tried to move himself free, but it was impossible his hands were not going to break the tape, and his feet were secured to tight with the rope. His legs burned from holding most of his weight. He stopped struggling when the door opened.

"To bad you can't see all the great toys I just got." The man said playing with a pair of pliers. "Hold his mouth open." The man said to someone else in the room. Jack felt the hands push into his mouth pulling his jaw open making him gag. He felt the cold metal go inside his mouth and gagged worse. He tried to break way, but couldn't. He felt the pliers tighten around one of his back teeth and his body tensed as the man began to squeeze them tighter and pull on them. Jack held back his scream of pain as the tooth came loose and than out of his mouth. His mouth filled with blood almost chocking him.

The man said, "Now that wasn't too bad. Here wash it down." He grabbed a bottle of gasonline off the table and the other man still had Jack's mouth open. He poured the gas into Jack's mouth and Jack gagged as soon as it touched and than he moved around in pain from the gasoline hitting the open wound in his mouth. He spit it out swallowing a little. The gas burning his mouth.

"Fine we'll leave your mouth alone we do want you to be able to talk. Maybe if we burn you alive it'll work."

Jack felt the gasoline flow from his feet down his body. He felt small beads of it trickle down his back, and the smell entered his nostrils threatening to make him get sick from the taste in his mouth than the smell. He heard the lighter flick open and thought maybe this wasn't worth it. He finally said, "he's my father." Not wanting to be burned alive he had smelt the burned body smell and saw people who were burnt to a crisp come out of the fires. He had even heard about one man who had been burned by a another person and lived to tell about it while Jack was in rehab. He didn't want to feel that.

"Interesting." The man said, "Why hasn't he talked to you before?"

"He left me when I was two. I know nothing about him." Jack said spitting more blood out of his mouth.

"I'm not so sure I believe you."

"I don't know how to prove it to you." Jack said not wanting to get burned alive.

"Good enough. Let him down. Put him in the chair and get the web cam in here. We'll get this all sorted out." The man said looking at Jack noticing some similarities between the retired senator and retired ambassador to Kosovo.

Jack felt himself being lowered and than being picked up. His hands were freed from behind his back, but a gun was pressed firmly against his head. Unable to see he just walked where they led him to. When he was ordered to sit he sat not knowing where he was or who he was dealing with. They wanted something with Robert, and he must know something they don't want anyone knowing, from the questions they were asking him. It hit him just how much he didn't know about the man and how much trouble that might just get him into. He was brought back to reality when he heard men working on hooking stuff up and the familiar sound of Microsoft Windows opening. One of his hands was jerked and placed flat on to the table and held down by a strong wrist.

"Do you have everything ready?" The familiar voiced asked someone.

"Yes sir. We are live."

"Good." The man took Jack's cell phone and made a phone call. The person answered the phone a few seconds later.

"Hello" Robert Perrin said noticing Jack's name on his caller id wondering if Jack had contacted him to talk finally.

"I have something of yours." The voice said over the phone.

"Who?" Play dumb as if you don't know who he is, Robert thought to himself.

"Oh you know how. Log on to your computer. I'll email you a link to a live video feed."

Robert went to his Dell laptop and logged on to his Microsoft outlook express. He got the familiar beep to let him know he had a new message. He opened it and clicked on the url that lead him to a live web broadcast. He saw Jack sitting in a chair with a blindfold over his eyes, and a gun to his head. The camera moved down to show someone holding his wrist to the table. Robert watched as the man on the phone grabbed one of Jack's fingers and started to pull it out. He heard the pop over the phone, and the pained groan come from Jack as the finger popped out of place. He watched as the man pushed the finger in the air and than back as far as it would go until another loud crack filled the air as the bone snapped. Jack screamed in pain this time not being able to stifle it as his dislocated finger was also broken.

Robert said nothing as the man twisted the finger a little more.

"So do you know who we have now?"

"Haven't a clue I never meant him before in my life."

"That's funny because you were at his apartment today. And he was at your house or outside it the other day." The man said coolly into the phone. He moved on to another finger doing the same thing as before and getting the same results.

Robert studied the rest of Jack he seemed to be intact except for the blood that seemed to run down the side of his head, and some out of his mouth. He tried to block out the pained cry that came over the phone after another bone snapped. He heard the man order, "Tape his hands to the chair. It seems pop here doesn't care much about sonny boy so we'll do this quickly."

The men followed their orders and taped Jack's wrist to the arm of the chair. The man who broke two of Jack's fingers walked over and pulled his shirt up over his head. He saw all the scars on Jack's torso and the bruise that was forming where he had kicked him.

Robert saw the same thing and was almost in shock by the scars that riddled his son's torso. He had been through this before. He watched as the man on the phone held a knife in front of the camera and than to Jack's chest sticking it in and then pulling it down the length of his chest not so deep that it would kill Jack, but be painful enough and cause a nice blood flow. He did it a few more times and than let Jack rest. Jack held in the cries of pain the best he could and was now breathing heavily through his mouth gasping for air to help block the pain.

Robert heard the man taunt, "I don't think daddy cares much Jacky boy."

Jack said through clinched to as to now show the pain he was in, "I could have told you that."

The man chuckled at it and moved one of his broken fingers quickly. "I didn't ask though."

Jack's face screwed in pain, but he held the scream in he wasn't going to let them hear him scream. He didn't know how much more he could take of this, and there was nothing he could to do to stop it, so he would just have to go through it the best he could. He tried to use his anger at his father to help fuel him. Anger was a good thing to run on. It did take a lot of energy to hate, but when hate is all you have left that little extra energy is nothing compared to the alternative. Hate wasn't that bad it was the best fuel around it could out last everything, therefore you out lasted everything.

Robert watched and said nothing he was affected seeing this happen to his estranged son, but at the same time it didn't hit home because it was his estranged son, not his real son. He still could hold on to the fact that this was not someone close to him. He knew nothing of the man besides what his file said. He rationalized to himself, he had been through it before that was clear. He turned his thoughts back to the screen to see a man cut Jack free from the chair. Robert thought to himself, 'are they letting him go?'

He saw the man push Jack's face into the desk and Jack's right arm being lifted behind his back. He watched as the arm was pulled so far up Jack's back that any further something was going to snap. He saw on the camera as the man speaking to him put the phone towards Jack's shoulder and shook his head. Robert put his hand over his mouth as he heard the sound of bone snapping over the phone, and the painful scream out of Jack. He gagged almost throwing up at the sound of the bone popping out of place in Jack's shoulder. He didn't know what to say or do.

Jack was unable to stifle this scream. His shouldered screamed in pain and he felt tears come to his eyes from the pain he was in. He was glad he was still blindfolded so they couldn't see the tears. He felt himself yanked off the desk and pushed roughly back into the chair. Before he could react the man sent a knife down through his leg into the chair. Jack screamed this time in pain. He tried to move his right arm and only caused more pain.

A woman was then pushed into the room and she saw the man in the chair and gasped. She didn't know him, but she could tell he was in bad shape, worse than she was use to seeing. She looked at the other men and cried out, "What do you want with me?"

Robert heard her voice over the phone and froze, his blood ran cold, and he knew who it was automatically.

The woman felt the hands tighten on her and she almost screamed as they were squeezing to tight. She saw the man in the chair and watched in horror as someone pulled the knife out of his leg and wiped it off on the mans pant legs.

"So Robert what's the deal now that we have something that is precious to you?" The man asked over the phone.

"If you touch one hair on her head I'll kill you." Robert said into the phone his anger overtaking him.

"One hair you said?" The man walked over to the woman and yanked two hairs out of her head. "That was two. Don't worry we aren't done with Jacky boy just yet. Really got to see how cold hearted you can be."

With that Jack was yanked out of the chair and his hands pulled in front of him. Jack felt his knees give as more pain went through him as his arms were yanked in front of him. The man let him fall to the floor but kept a hold of his hands. He grabbed a rope from one of the other men and tied Jack's wrist together. He handed the rope to someone else who ran the rope through a beam in the ceiling. Jack was hoisted up and he growled in pain as his arm was pulled up and closed his eyes under the blindfold trying to block the pain out of having weight on his dislocated shoulder. He tried to stay still because when he moved it hurt worse.

One of the men repositioned the camera so it was focused on Jack hanging. Blood dripping out of Jacks leg and his chest Robert noticed. He watched as a man approached the view of the camera with a baseball bat. Robert couldn't believe what they were going to do. He watched them strike Jack in the back, he heard the scream over the phone, and than he saw it again. The man moved to the front connecting with Jack's rib cage and Robert was sure there were a few broken bones there. The man stopped when Jack's head lulled forward and his body went slack.

Robert heard the man say, "I think he's passed out?"

"Leave him for now. Well call back Robert. You think about it we'll move on to precious next." The man closed the phone and he watched them cut Jack down and than leave the room. He watched as his daughter rushed over to the unknown man and moved the blindfold back.

Cindy felt for a pulse finding one in his neck. She gently moved him onto his back so she could look at the cuts on his chest and keep his hands in front and pressure off them. She pressed gently on his ribs to see if they were broken and she almost screamed as he jolted awake and growled.

"Sorry." She said looking at the man.

"You got to get out of here." Jack knew who she was. He had watched her leave Roberts house the other day.

"So do you." She said wanting to leave, but she couldn't' live with herself if she let this man behind.

"On the desk there's a knife grab it." Jack croaked feeling that the woman was not going to leave. She must have inherited her mothers genes, Jack thought bitterly to himself.

Cindy ran to the desk found the knife and walked back over.

Robert watched still as his daughter cut Jack's hands free and helped him to his feet. He saw Jack look around the room still holding the rope. He walked over to the desk and bent down. He ran outside to his car knowing they would need someone to pick them up. He called the man back on Jack's phone, "I'll make a deal. I'll give you your money. Where are you?"

The man said, "Don't bring anyone with you or your daughter is dead."

"I know. I'll give you your money. Just tell me where you are so I can pick her and Jack both up." The man gave him the address and warned him again to come alone.

Cindy couldn't believe the man was walking around, limping without falling to the ground in pain. She knew he had been through stuff like this by the scars, but that was a lot of pain for one person to deal with. She watched him tie the rope and than pull it with his left hand. He looked at her and the weakness in his eyes, he said, "I need your help we need to pull this towards the window."

Cindy walked over and too the rope from Jack and pulled it to the window. When she was done she was tired, but she knew what he was going to do. Jack opened the window and threw the rope out. "Go down the rope." Jack said looking from the window to the door knowing they would be back any moment.

"Are you coming?" S he asked looking at him as if he couldn't.

"Yes go." He said harshly he lowered his voice and in a nice tone said, "I'll be right behind you."

She grabbed the rope and pushed herself out the window looking up at him she started to climb down. She was halfway down when he joined her. He heard the men coming and knew he had very little time. With his left hand he lowered himself his broken finger screaming out in pain, but he figured it was worse than his shoulder.

Jack looked up he was about six feet off the ground when he heard the man scream out the window at him. Jack was helpless to do anything when the man took aim and fired. The bullet tore through Jack's shoulder and he felt his hand let go and he fell towards the ground. When he hit everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Robert pulled up in time to see Jack fall the six feet to the ground. He saw his daughter run back to the man and kneel next to him checking him out. Robert got out of the running car and ran over and grabbed her pulling her away.

She fought him and screamed, "Help me get him off the ground and in the car." She wouldn't take no for an answer and she couldn't believe her father was just going to leave the man.

Robert reluctantly helped her pull Jack to the car. The men came outside the door as he sped off. Cindy ducked in the back seat as bullets shattered the glass of the window.

"Are you ok?" Robert asked once they were out of shooting distance.

"Yes we need to get him to a hospital." She said applying pressure to the bullet wound.

"NO he can't go. They'll ask to many questions." Robert said seeing himself behind bars all of the sudden.

"Dad he's going to die if we don't." She said. "He saved me. I was just kidnapped by people, and you saw that he was tortured. What are you getting at here?"

"Just trust me. You can fix him you're a doctor. We can go to your brothers vet hospital it's the day after Christmas it's closed. You can fix him up there. But first I need to get your mom, brother, and your family up to the cabin. Those me will go after them next since they don't have you anymore." Robert said thinking aloud to himself.

"Who is he dad?" She asked looking at the man she was holding in her lap and she noticed the resemblance finally. "How?" She asked knowing who Jack was now.

"I'll tell you later." He said not understanding her question.

"You were going to leave him for dead. He's your son." She said gasping not feeling so safe all of the sudden.

"He's my estranged son. I barely know him and it was a long time ago. Just let get him fixed first." Robert said angry and than calming himself down. He turned onto the road that would lead them to the vet hospital he had built for his son. He pulled around back and got out letting himself in and turning the alarm off. He ran back out to the car and pulled Jack out who groaned from the movement. Robert dragged him inside ignoring his daughter warning not to hurt him any worse. She followed behind and helped her father lift the man to the table in the operating room.

She looked around for supplies. She found a mild sedative she could use to help him with the pain. She injected it into his arm and than pulled at his shirt using a pair of scissors she cut the shirt away from him to see the extent of his battered body. He opened his eyes some and she asked him, "Jack can you feel this." She pressed down on his leg and he squirmed in pain from her touching the leg with the knife wound. "Sorry." She had forgten about it. "Ok I need you to stay still Jack. Everything is ging to be fine I'm a doctor." She said working on trying to stop the bleeding the of the bullet wound. She felt him move in pain under her and she hated to do it but she asked her father, "I need your help you need to hold him down. I don't have anything to help take the pain away but the sedative and it won't kick in for awhile, but he needs medical attention now."

Her father walked over and found two spots to put his hands on Jack's chest to push down without causing pain. Jack felt him hold him down an didn't understand at first until he lifted his head to see the woman working on the bullet wound.

Cindy saw that the bullet went through and it didn't seem to hit anything important. She added some pressure dressing to it she found and than said, "I need the x-ray machine. I can't tell if any damage has been done."

Her father ran to another room and grabbed the portable x-ray machine that had cost him so much money for his son. He ran back in with it on a cart and Cindy fiddled with it than found out how to work it. She x-rayed Jack's shoulder, ribs, and the rest of his chest. She did his arm and hands, than his legs. She waited for all of the x-rays to load into the computer and print out. She looked at him and went to work on the cuts. She knew she could easily sew those up while she waited.

Robert sat down the sedative kicking in he didn't need to hold Jack anymore. He watched his daughter work on the Jack and wondered how much of this was new to her. She worked in a rich peoples hospital up in Beverly Hills, not many gun shot wounds or beatings of this magnitude came her way.

He watched as his daughter worked on the different wound feverishly trying to stop all the blood from flowing out. She only stopped when she knew the x-rays would be ready. She looked them over and noticed that the bullet didn't hit any bone which was a good thing, and that his fingers were in fact broken and his shoulder was dislocated.

After another few hours of work she finally finished fixing Jack up. She looked at her handy work and prayed it would be good enough. She still felt uncomfortable with not having him go to the hospital, but than she didn't have much choice in the matter. She looked at her father and said, "I'm going to write a prescription in your name for some pain killers and antibiotics. Please go pick them up and some gauze and a sling and bring them back here."

"Sure." HE said taking the two prescriptions from his daughter and looking back at Jack who lay asleep on the table. "Is he going to be ok?"

"I think so." She said finally noticing a note of worry in his voice and finding the man she knew as her father in his eyes.

"Ok I'll go get this stuff. Anything else?"

"Some clothes for him most of his are pretty cut up and bloody." She said looking back at him almost naked besides boxer short on the table. She looked around for a blanket after her father left and found one finally in her brothers office. She covered him up and felt his neck to feel a nice steady pulse. She felt his forehead and it was clammy but that was to be expected. She sat down and put her head in her hands, she had an older brother. Half brother but a brother at that, and she never knew. She knew nothing about him other than he was probably in some sort of gang because of the tattoo on his arm. She had known it as a Latino or Mexican gang symbol.

She wasn't sure how long it took her father to get back, the entire time she was studying the man she hadn't even spoken to yet and wondered who he was and if there would be anyone worried about him?

Robert walked into the room and noticed his daughter staring at Jack almost studying him. He cleared his voice and said, "Let's get him to the cabin. I'll call everyone on our way there."

Robert grabbed Jack off the table gently trying to move him without touching anything that might cause Jack pain. He led him out to the car and lay him down gently in the back seat. He put the blanket back over him and than got into the driver side. He drove off looking in the rearview mirror occasionally to check to make sure everything was fine with Jack in the back. He called his family and gave the excuse that they never use the cabin or get together a lot anymore so they should all go to the cabin. After some minor begging everyone decided to join him and Cindy at the cabin.

When they got to the cabin Robert got out of the car and gave Cindy the keys to unlock the place and get the bed ready in the basement for Jack. He had to argue with her because she didn't want to put him down their because of the damp coldness of the basement she was afraid of what it might do to his already weak system. Robert made it clear he had to go down there. His wife had not known about the other child either, no one but he and Cindy did. He made Cindy promise not to tell anyone about Jack not until he found the right time to break the news to them.

He moved Jack out of the back of the car getting a groan out of Jack, which made Robert feel a little bit better as he was getting worried that Jack had not made any noise over the half hour drive, nor did he seem to move. He carried the groan man with some struggle down the stairs to the refinished basement. He moved him into the small bedroom and lay him on the bed that Cindy had already fixed with new sheets and clean blankets. She checked over all of Jack's wounds and put his arm in the sling her father had picked up at the store. She covered him up and took a seat in the chair thinking he should wake up soon.

"Are you going to stay down here?" Robert asked knowing if she were down here when the family came they would all think something was up, and he didn't need that right now.

"I'll be up before everyone gets here. When he wakes up he's going to be confused and disorientated I want to be there to let him know where he is and that everything is fine." She said checking her watch wondering how he was still asleep it was only a mild sedative.

She kept a constant watch on him even as she felt herself get bored and tired from the watch. She almost jumped when she heard him cry out. She ran over to him he was still asleep what did he cry out, "Teri?" She thought to herself maybe that was it. Who was Teri? She watched as his eyes snapped open all of the sudden.

"Shh!" She said trying to comfort him. "Your fine Jack. Everything is fine. You are at a cottage."

"W-h-o . . . a. . .r . . .e" His throat was dry and it made it hard to talk on top of the nagging pain he felt in his shoulder, chest and head. His fingers joined in with the pain and he tried to sit up, but felt more pain and a nauseous dizziness overtake him before he to his head completely off the pillow.

"I'm Cindy Lee." She said.

Jack looked up at her remembering them pushing her into the room, she was Roberts daughter. He thought to himself he must be at Roberts house. He had to leave he thought. He called up all his reserve energy and pushed himself up against Cindy's protest. He was getting ready to stand up when pain shot through his body so bad that he cried out and lied back down without an argument.

"Please don't move around. You'll hurt yourself worse. I'll go get you some water I got some pain pills for you to take." She said rushing out of the room to go get a glass of water. She returned and held his head up with one hand as she poured the water into his mouth. He quickly drank the glass of warm water helping cure his dry throat. She pulled the glass away when there was just enough left for him to take the pain pills and the antibiotic. She put them in his mouth and than poured the water in. He swallowed them without a protest trusting that she wasn't poisoning him, if she wanted him dead he'd be dead already.

The aching in the back of his head, his back, ribs, hand and everywhere else slowly subsided and he felt his eyes closing again. Cindy told him to get some rest and she would be upstairs if he needed anything else. She left his bed side and saw her father standing in the door way.

She walked out of the room and glared at him for locking the door behind her once she walked out of the room. "Why are you doing this to him? What trouble are you guys in?"

"I'm afraid it's all his trouble." Robert lied he couldn't tell his family the truth. "He came to me yesterday asking for help."

"I don't believe you. Those men wanted something from you." She said angry at her father for lying.

"No Jack owes them money and he told them I'd pay them." Robert lied convincingly.

Cindy wasn't sure what to believe and she felt bad for not believing her father over information about a man she didn't even know, but there was just something that didn't make sense. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Ok" She finally said giving in.

They walked up stairs together and waited for the other to arrive. After awhile Cindy decided to go start cooking supper she knew her mother would finish once she got there, but she didn't want to sit there. She started the food and than looked through the fridge for anything that she might be able to run down for Jack to eat finding nothing she grabbed a bottle of water off the counter and ran it down to him.

He was sound asleep when she walked in the room so she set the bottle on the nightstand next to the bed and fixed the clock so it read the right time. She left the room locking the door behind her and went back upstairs to greet whoever just pulled up.

Her mom walked into the house and Cindy embraced her welcoming her. Her mother smelt the food cooking and said, "What are we cooking?"

"Turkey. It was the only thing in the freezer. I was going to see if someone would stop and get some food along the way." She lied it never crossed her mind.

"Well I'll just go back into town once your brother gets here and we will grocery shop. What have you and your father been up to?"

"Nothing really." She didn't want to lie to her mother, but she saw her father glaring at her from the couch. "I got to go check on something downstairs." She said scurrying away quickly.

"What's wrong with her and what's downstairs?" Her mother asked noticing the uneasiness in her daughter.

"I don't know. She was doing something down there. Come here." He said standing up he wanted so much to tell her what was downstairs, but he knew how she would react and it wouldn't be pretty.

Cindy opened the door to the room and found Jack still asleep and shaking slightly under the covers. She felt his forehead he was just cold. She looked around for another blanket and when she didn't find one she took a deep breath and walked upstairs. She went to one of the rooms and pulled the blanket off the bed. As she was walking back to the basement her mom stopped her.

"What are you doing with that?" Her mom asked inquisitively.


	5. Chapter 5

"I thought I'd wash it." She lied again twice in one day. She continued down the stairs to Jack's room. She covered him up with the blanket and noticed the pain look on his face. She couldn't do anything about the pain, and she wasn't even sure if it was physical pain or emotional pain. She hoped physical pain because she could cure that easily. She was standing over him when a shadow appeared in the room.

She looked over to see her mother and her mouth dropped open.

"Who is this?" Her mother asked almost angry.

"Maybe you should ask dad." She didn't know what to say. She sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to tell her mother.

"Richard." Her mother screamed.

Richard was upstairs and he knew then she had found Jack by the way her voice was. He ran down the stiars to see her standing in the room stairing at the unconscious man.

"Who is this Richard?" She asked, "And why is he in our basement?" She dind't even think to ask why was he so beat up, it never crossed her mind.

"He is Jack Bauer. He's down here because he's hurt."

"I noticed that but why isn't he in the hospital?" She asked getting angrier.

"If I took him to the hospital he'd get into more trouble. Cindy fixed him up he is fine now honey."

"What is he in to? What trouble?"

"He got himself and myself into some trouble today and I'm dealing with it. That's why I have all of you coming up here. There are some men after him and they might use you guys to get to me." He said lying.

Cindy bit her lip she knew her father had to be lying. She didn't know the man on the bed, but she knew her father and she knew when he was lying. "It's his son mom." Cindy finally blurted out.

"His what?" Her mom said glaring at the man on the bed.

"His son." Cindy said moving back as she saw her father eyes light up with anger.

"How is this?" Her mother looked at her father finally.

"Before we meant I was with his mother. It was not serious she thought it was, but it wasn't. She was pregnant with him and I tried to get her to have an abortion I was only 20 at the time and I had a career ahead of me. My family didn't know about her because she was all wrong for me. She refused to have an abortion. I tried to help her out, but I had to cut all ties from her eventually because you know how much this would have damaged my career?"

"He was your son for God's sake." Cindy yelled angered by the explanation.

"No he was a whores son." Her father snapped.

"How could you not tell me all these years?" Her mother asked almost in tears.

Jack heard the screaming through his drug induced sleep and tried to wake himself it was a hard slow process but eventually he opened his eyes to see three people arguing.

"It didn't matter I had nothing to do with him. I didn't think it was that important." Richard said in his defense.

"What really happened today?" Cindy asked. No one noticing Jack was awake.

"Just like I told you. He owes some people some money and he told them I'd pay."

Jack spoke and was almost unheard his voice was so low, "That's not true."

Barb heard him and saw that he was awake no one else was the other two were to busy staring each other down. "What did you say?" She said walking over to the man.

"He's lying." Jack said. "I don't know those men."

"Than what happened today?" She asked kneeling by him to hear him better his speech was slurred and troubled from the drugs.

"I don't know. He came to my house after he caught me outside your house yesterday. I asked him to leave. I took the dog for a walk and woke up in the room. Everything else is fuzzy."

"That's not true." Richard said challenging his son.

Cindy thought for a second Richard was going to hit Jack as he moved closer. She moved closer not sure what she could do if he choose to.

Jack noticed the movement and prepared himself, but nothing came. He felt himself getting tired again and he fought to keep his eyes opened he couldn't trust these people or his father, that thought brought emotional pain.

Cindy noticed this fight and spoke softly, "Maybe we should move upstairs and let him rest some."

Her mother shook her head looking over the man and noticing the striking resemblance to her husband. "Why is he down here and not in the hospital?"

"I told you he's in trouble." Richard said looking at his wife seeing the pain in her eyes.

"Let's take this upstairs." She said walking out of the room.

As soon as everyone was gone Jack tried to move but was too tired to. He thought to himself, 'just sleep for awhile and than you can get out of here.'

Jack awoke with a start when the loud guitar noise spread throughout the house. He sat up stifling a groan he looked around the now dark room. He had no clue what time it was, the windows room had not light coming from it, not even from under the door. He felt himself shiver slightly in the cold dark room. He moved his legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood up through the pain of his broken ribs. It was time to leave, he thought to himself.

**Never made it as a wise man  
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin  
Tired of livin like a blind man  
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feelin  
  
And this is how you remind me  
This is how you remind me  
Of what I really am  
This is how you remind me  
of what i really am  
It's not like you to say sorry  
I was waiting on a different story  
This time I'm mistaken  
For handing you a heart worth breakin  
And I've been wrong, I've been down  
and to the bottom of every bottle  
These five words in my head  
Scream are we having fun yet?  
Ya?, Ya?, Ya? ...No no(x2**

He was on his feet using the bed to help leverage his shaky legs. He wished there had been light in the room because he was not sure where anything was, he moved along the bed slowly towards the door each step tentative, afraid his feet would give out at any time. He heard a voice call out for someone to turn the music down, he was sure it was right outside the door so he moved back to the bed and sat down. He lay down and covered himself under the covers again and closed his eyes as the person walked in.

Robert walked into the room where Jack lay. His wife had agreed to keep Jack's presences a secret until Robert solved the issue. They did not need their son, nor the rest of the family besides Cindy to worry. They would have a nice family weekend or attempt to. It was not hard to convince her to keep her mouth shut, she knew what this would do to the legacy that Robert had built over the years. There was even talk of him running for president. It was a wonder how he kept his dirty little secret quite for so long. He looked at the man asleep in the bed still and felt a tinge of worry as he had not woke up since the argument. He stood in the door way watching him. Unable and unwilling to move, a rush of emotions running through him. This was his flesh and blood, half of the genetic code in the man was his, and he knew very little about him. He felt bad for dragging Jack into the mess, and than blaming it on him, but he could not admit to his wife nor anyone why they really were after him. It would ruin their life.

Jack lay in the bed his eyes closed he could feel the man staring at him, it didn't take him long to figure out who it was in the door way. He had a choice to make he could lay in the bed while Robert stood in the door way or he could open his eyes and try to get out of there. Robert really could not keep him there, or couldn't expect to. Jack almost jumped when he heard a woman's voice ask, "How is he?"

Robert did jump not expecting his wife to sneak up on him. "Still asleep." Robert said trying not to convey any of the worry he felt.

"What happened earlier today?" She asked trying to get the truth out of him, but getting nothing but a shake of the head. "I'm going to go back up and bring a plate of food down for him. Why don't you go up get Kelly to turn that music down and entertain everyone."

Robert turned around and kissed her, "Thank you."

"OH you aren't out of trouble yet." She said in a serious tone, she was still angry with him, but this was neither the time nor the place to handle that. They both walked upstairs after closing the door.

Jack opened his eyes once he heard the door close. What was he going to do when she came back down? He knew she would probably try to wake him, or would she just leave the food? If she woke him she would question him about the events and as much as he would love to tell her what happened even he didn't know. He opened his eyes and decided to sit up in the bed and try moving again. Maybe if he acted as if he wanted to leave they'd let him leave. He was almost at the door when Robert's wife returned with a plate of food.

Susan almost dropped the food when she saw the man standing half naked in the room. She was surprised to see him moving around. "Maybe you should lay back down before you hurt yourself." She said in the best motherly tone she could muster.

"I'm fine." Jack said in a growl he didn't mean to growl but he was far from fine. His battered body cried out in pain.

"Please sit eat at least." She said holding the plate of food up.

Jack reluctantly moved back to the bed and sat down. The room was still really cold and he started to shiver slightly from the lack of clothes. She sat the food on the small night stand next to the bed and looked him over before moving back. She would question him about what happened, maybe he would hopefully have answers.

Jack saw her staring at him and felt self conscious about being so naked.

She smiled at him, noticing the slight embarrassment, and asked, "So where is your mother?"

"She died." Jack said knowing what would come next she would say she was sorry as if she actually knew the woman.

"I'm sorry. How long ago?" She wanted to get to know about her stepson.

"When I was sixteen." Jack answered taking a mouthful of potatoes.

"Who took care of you after that?"

"My stepfather." Clearly no love in Jack's voice, "Until I was seventeen than I moved out and lived with a few people until I was old enough to join the Army."

"What did you do for the Army?"

The questions never seemed to end, "I worked with the special forces Delta team." Jack answered trying to convey he didn't want to play a hundred questions right now.

She noticed it, but figured she'd keep asking questions until he either stopped answering or stopped her. "What did you do in Delta?"

"A lot of stuff." Jack said not offering any details.

"What do you do now?" She asked looking him over noticing a uneasiness in his body language, she was a psychiatrist until the children were born and than she left her practice to raise them, and didn't have time to start it up again due to Roberts political career.

"I'm on a hiatus from CTU." Jack answered finishing off the food.

"CTU what's that?" She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but coldness in them and for a second she almost shivered, but not from the cold of the room.

"Counterterrorism Unit. It's based out of the CIA. I was director of Field Operations until I decided to take some time off." Jack said hoping that would end the questions.

"Do you have a wife or a daughter?" She hadn't noticed a ring on his finger but he could be divorced.

"I have a daughter." Jack said.

"What about your wife?" She asked noticing a change in his body language he was clearly uncomfortable about talking about something.

"She passed away a few years ago." Jack said hoping she would shut up already.


	6. chater 6

"Grandma where are you?" A young woman's voice called from the other room. She walked into the room and automatically noticed the almost naked injured man. Her mouth dropped open unable to control both her awe struck reaction at who was sitting in her basement.

"Kelly what are you doing down here?" Her grandmother asked changing her tone of voice from the motherly tone to the semi angry tone.

"You're Jack Bauer." Kelly said staring at the man. She had heard about him after he had saved then Senator David Palmer. She had wanted to work for the CIA ever since she was younger. She had to do a report on what she wanted as a career and it happen to be around the same time that the entire assassination attempt occurred. She had followed the events of that closely and continued to follow the one man they credited for saving Palmers life, Jack Bauer. She remembered hearing about all the problems that happened after that day, his wife dying and all the stuff he went through. He dropped off the face of the Earth, or so it seemed for a few years and resurfaced to save L.A. from the nuclear bomb. Than he was off the face of the Earth again for awhile until the Corellia virus and she had seen him at her high school. She almost screamed in excitement when she saw him look into the class room with is gun pulled out. She remembered that very well, she even remembered hearing about what he did to save them from the virus. He was now in her basement and she was dumbfounded as to why he would be there.

Jack looked at her confused as to how she would know his name.

"You really are the Jack Bauer. The dude that saved L.A. from not only a nuclear bomb, but the cordellia virus?"

Jack still confused said, "Yeah I guess." He noticed the older woman, Roberst wife, look at him shocked. She had heard Kelly speak about the man nonstop after the cordellia virus incident at her school.

"What are you doing here?" She said looking at him taking in all the damage done to him.

Jack shifted uncomfortably he didn't know who the young woman was, but he didn't feel like he had the right to say why he was here, even if he wasn't sure himself.

Susan finally jumped in and said, "Kelly why don't you take his plate upstairs and be quiet about this ok."

"Sure. I can keep a secret." Kelly said walking over to grab the plate from Jack and didn't take her eyes off him while she did it and walked out of the room.

Jack almost blushed feeling the young woman check him out.

When she left the room Susan said, "I'm sorry about that Jack."

Jack looked at her and say sincerity in her eyes, "Don't be it's ok." Jack said not sure of what to do next.

"So what happened today? I know my husband is lying to me about what happened because if you are Jack Bauer, and Kelly would know because you are practically her idol, you wouldn't be in the situation he said you caused."

Jack smiled at her, "I don't know what going on." He told the truth he had his suspicions but he wasn't going to share with her.

"Jack I know your not a stupid man you have an idea you just aren't telling me." She called him on it. Before she could continue she saw her husband in the door way glaring at them.

"What did you tell her?" He asked Jack who looked at him.

"Nothing." Jack said confused as to why he was so angry all of the sudden.

"Why was Kelly down here?" Robert asked Susan.

"She came to find me. I told her to be quiet about it."

Jack pushed himself up blocking all the pain from his face, it was a hard task that he thought halfway through he wouldn't' be able to do he wanted to gasp once he was on his feet, but held it back. "I'll just get out of your hair now." Jack said moving slowly towards the door.

"Sit down." Robert said pointing a finger at Jack.

"You don't need me here." Jack said moving towards the door still until he was in front of Robert.

"Sit down now." Robert said glaring at the man standing in front of him that just happened to be his son.

"Let me leave Robert you don't need me here. You have your family here and I don't need to get in the way. I won't tell anyone what happened." Jack said looking him in the eye meaning every word he said.

Robert face flushed when Jack called him Robert, it was almost a blatant disrespect to him. "Sit down before I make you sit down Jack." Robert threatened again.

Jack weighed his options and decided no matter how big of an asshole Robert was he wouldn't hurt him. Jack went to walk forward when he saw the fist come at his stomach. Only have a few seconds to move out of the way forgetting about his fingers he caught Richards next bunch and his face showed the pain he was in from the contact with the broken fingers. Jack was defenseless to the next punch that hit him in the stomach.

Jack fell to the ground with a cry of pain as the air was knocked out of him and his broken ribs screamed out in pain along with the bruise that covered his stomach. Jack tried to curl up as he saw Robert getting ready to kick him, but Robert stopped himself before he kicked Jack. What was he doing? Robert came back to normal not believing what he had just done. He bent down and helped Jack up and back to the bed, "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

Susan stood in shock at what she had seen Robert do, he had never been a violent man. He had not hit anyone that she could remember until now. She glared at him as she walked over to Jack to check on him.

Cindy along with everyone else heard the cry of pain and everyone was downstairs within minutes of the incident. Cindy saw Jack on the bed his face screwed in pain. She walked over to him and looked him over, "What happened?" She asked her father.

"Nothing." He answered.

Roberts son, Bob, asked, "Who in the hell is this?"

All of the grandchildren, Cindy's two and Bob's one stood in the other room listening.

Kelly called out, "Uncle Bob that is Jack Bauer."

Bob looked at Jack who finally got the pain under control and looked around at all of the people; he was in the brandy bunch hell he thought to himself for a second.

"Why don't you guys go upstairs so Jack and I can talk?" Robert asked looking everyone in the eye.

"I'm not leaving you with him." Cindy challenged.

"JUST GO UPSTAIRS" Robert snapped finally, he had not raised his voice at her in a long time and it made her almost jump.

The children all ran upstairs afraid of getting in trouble. Kelly sat on the steps trying to listen to what was going on.

"Dad why do you have him down here?" Bob asked confused.

Cindy shook her head at her brother he should be able to tell just by looking. Jack looked more like Robert than Bob did. "What's going on here dad?" Cindy asked finally.

Robert glared at her he was tired of her constant questions. Why didn't she believe him?

Jack moved in the bed trying to alleviate some of the pain he now felt as he breathed the pain pill no longer in his system. "Why don't I just leave and let you all get back to your life?" Jack tried again.

"You can't leave. It's not because I want you here, but the will use you to get back at me again or try to find me and you're in no shape to fight them." Robert finally said softening some.

"What in the hell is going on?" Bob said angry he could sense there was some sort of danger involved with the man in the room and he didn't like his children being involved in this.

"I got myself into some trouble and there are some people after me for some money." Robert finally confessed. He looked at Jack who was sitting on the bed shaking slightly, Robert assumed it was from the cold room there was no heat down here.

Jack hadn't noticed he was shaking nor did he notice the goose bumps, he noticed the pain he felt, but he was more worried about trying to find a way out or figure out what was going on.


	7. chapter 7

Bob looked at his father, "How much money?"

"A lot." Robert answered not wanting to get into the details.

"And what does he have to do with it?" Bob asked confused.

"He's my son." Robert said seeing the hurt than the anger come over Bob's eyes.

"He's probably working with them isn't he?" Bob said looking at Jack angrily. He was a child again in his mind and Jack was moving in on his territory.

"No he's not." Robert answered looking at his son and seeing the anger come off him towards Jack.

Jack noticed it also and said nothing. He wanted to say, 'I hate it as much as you do buddy.' But he didn't want to cause any problems he was almost out of there he thought to himself.

"What he all of the sudden shows up and than they are after you the next day? I saw him outside the house yesterday." Bob said moving into the room glaring at Jack.

Robert had thought of the same thing but he doubted it he had read Jack's file a few times and saw how loyal the man had been to his country and how much he had sacrificed.

"Why won't you let him leave than?" Bob asked not turning from Jack gaze as he said it.

"Because if he leaves and they grab him again the will probably kill him just to get at me, and if they don't kill him they'll use him to get to me." Robert answered his son in a semi-annoyed voice. Bob had not always been the brightest, Robert had hoped he would take over the legacy of the family name, but clearly he would not be able to.

Bob was still glaring at Jack when Susan finally said, "What smells like gasoline?"

Jack didn't take his eyes off Bob, but smiled slightly he had gotten so use to the smell he had forgotten about it. "That would be me." He said not even blinking.

"What?" Susan said not understanding until she thought about it. "Well you can't be sitting there covered in gasoline. You poor thing. Bob and Robert you two go into town to the all night Wal-Mart (YES Wal-Mart is the store for me) and get some groceries (that would be SUPER WAL-MART) and get Jack some clothes. I'm sure you can manage while Cindy and I sort Jack out. Deana and John can watch the kids and make sure they get to sleep."

Bob just glared he didn't want to have Jack there nor did he want to help the man. Robert spoke, "Sure. We'll pick more medical supplies why we are there."

Susan looked at Jack and asked, "IS there anything specific that you need?"

Jack smiled at her and said graciously, "No thank you."

"I'll show you where the bathroom is." She said walking over to help him out of the bed, but Jack stood up on his own never showing the pain he felt. He felt Susan's arm lightly touch his back and he closed his eyes to keep himself from growling in pain, as he was sure his back was bruised horribly. Susan noticed the slight tension and moved her arm away.

She walked next to the man she had found was her stepson and led him to the bathroom right off the kids play room. Kelly was in the room watching CNN when Susan came in with Jack and she smiled at them turning back to the TV.

"I'll be back down with a towel." Susan said leaving Jack in the bathroom.

Jack examined his face and the rest of his exposed body while he wanted for her. He slowly took the gauze off himself. He groaned as he pulled it away from the bullet wound and later from his hand. He had all of it off when Susan knocked on the door lightly.

Susan opened the door to see the full extent of the mans injuries. All she could do to keep from gasping was avert her eyes and ask, "Is there anything else I can get you?" God he looked so horrible, and beat up.

"No thanks." Jack said smiling at her knowing from her eyes that she was almost sick from the damage done. He grabbed the towel from her and she noticed the hole in his other hand and turned white ready to be sick.

She quickly walked out of the bathroom white from shock. Cindy saw her when she got out of the bathroom and figured it was the wounds. She knew her mother had not been use to the wounds. When they were children they had to fix their own wounds because there mother could barely stand to looks at a paper cut let alone a scrap. Cindy sat on the couch next to Kelly and put her arm around her teenage daughter. "What are we watching?"

"CNN Anderson 360." Kelly said smiling at her mother.

"How did I raise a democrat again?" Her mother joked knowing her daughter had been a die hard democrat ever since the last presidential race. Her daughter went so far to try to get her grandfather to switch from a very conservative republican to a democrat, she didn't succeed but she did make her grandfather happy with her interest in poltics.

"Is he going to be ok?" Kelly asked when the commercial break came on.

"Who honey?" Cindy asked.

"Jack. I heard him and he groan in pain. I was just worried."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Why don't you tell me what you know about him." Cindy said wondering about the man.

"He's a hero mom. He makes batman look like superdog." Kelly said excited because she knew this. "He's saved L.A. from a nuclear bomb, and the virus last year. He saved president Palmer from an assassin and his family sort of." Kelly said remembering about the small article she had read about his wife.

"Sort of?"

"His wife was killed the day of the primaries when he saved Palmer. They never said who by, or how." Kelly said frowning about the fact she had never found that out.

"Ok. I'm going to go upstairs and check on your grandmother she looked pretty bad when she came out of there." Cindy said kissing her daughter on the head and going upstairs.

Jack enjoyed the warm water hitting his body. It hurt at first but once his frayed nerves. When he finished he wrapped the towel around himself. His clothes on the floor he grabbed the boxers and put them back on. He tried to find gauze or something so he could recover the wounds before he walked back out, but he couldn't find anything. He opened the door cautiously hoping the teenager from earlier had gone upstairs, but she turned around when he opened the door and he felt extremely exposed even though he had the boxers on.

Kelly looked at Jack as he walked out of the bathroom and gasped out loud when she saw his body. "God Jack you look like hell." Kelly said seeing his purple abdomen, along with the bright purple bruise that covered his right shoulder with a hole just bellow the shoulder bones, clearly a bullet hole she thought to herself. Than there were the cuts with stitches that covered his chest and part of his abdomen. "I'll go get mom so she can fix you up again." Kelly said running upstairs to find her mother talking with her grandmother in a hushed tone. Her father and Aunt playing monopoly with the others in another room.

"Uh mom." Kelly said interrupting their conversation.

"Yes Kelly?"

"He's out of the shower now." Kelly said looking at her mother.

"Ok I'll be down in a minute."

Kelly ran back down to find Jack walking slowly towards the bedroom again. She almost bumped into him when she reched the bottom of the stairs. "So Jack what's going on this time? Where are theses terrorist from? What are they trying to do? Can I help you stop them?" Kelly asked.

Jack laughed and winced in pain from the laugh. "You have an overactive imagination you know that."

"Sometimes. But seriously you can tell me one day I'm going to be a CTU agent just like you."

Jack smiled at her almost a sad smile, and than continued to move towards the bedroom.

Kelly noticed this and took it as a brush off, that hurt her. She had respected him and he just laughed at her and than walked away. She walked back into the family room and went back to watching the news. She'd show him how good she was.

Jack was sitting on the bed when Cindy came down the stairs. She walked into the room with all the supplies she would need. She the bullet wound. She slowly wrapped it as to not hurt his shoulder that had been dislocated. She finished with his bullet wound and moved on to wrapping his ribs. Jack thanked her for her help and keep saying it wasn't necessary, and she would just remind him who the doctor was.

She was finished fixing him up when her brother came down with the clothes and the other supplies. He glared at Jack and handed her the bad. She thanked him and said, "Do you think you can get the space heater out of the garage. It's really cold down here."

"Whatever." Bob said walking out of the room.

"Sorry about him. Don't mind him he's just a big baby sometimes." She apologized for her brother.

"Don't worry about it. He's about as happy as I am about being here." Jack said feeling bad after he said it. Here she was being kind to him trying to help him and he was just throwing in back in her face. "So is that you daughter in the other room?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Yeah Kelly's mine." Cindy smiled proud of her daughter. "You'll have to excuse her. She has looked up to you ever since you saved Senator Palmer. She thinks your some sort of superhero or something."

"If she only knew the truth." Jack smiled even though Cindy could sense the sadness behind it. He had seen a lot in his life.

"Do you have any children?" She asked trying to keep him talking.

"I have a daughter. She's grown now. Kim." Jack said smiling at the thought of her and than suddenly got worried, she didn't know where he was, and they knew where he lived and had been watching him probably. Would they go after her?

Cindy sensed the urgency in him all of the sudden as she finished tapping his ribs. She helped him dress and he groaned when he moved his arm, but his face never showed the pain. When he was fully dressed in the flannel shirt, and loose fitting jeans she helped him put the sling on.

"I got to go now." Jack said finally. "They know where I live, and they knew who I was. They might go after Kim."

"You can't. Why don't you try to call her? I'll go get my cell phone wait here." Cindy ran out of the room and to her purse upstairs. She grabbed her cell phone getting looks from the people upstairs and than handed the phone to Jack.

Jack dialed Kim's number and it automatically when to her voice mail account. "Damn it."

Kelly had been listening in the other room as she was on her way upstairs and heard him say he had to leave.

"What is it?" Cindy asked.

"I got her voice mail. I shouldn't have gotten her voice mail right of the bat. She never turns her phone off incase CTU has to call her in. I got to get back to L.A. and find her." Jack felt his stomach turn as he thought about what they could be doing to her right now.

"I'll drive you." Cindy said moving towards the stairs. She waited for him and followed him up the stairs as the slowly moved up them. When they reached the top of the stairs her father looked at them.

"What's going on?" He asked noticing Jack was fully dressed with his shoes and all on as if he were leaving.

"His daughter might be in trouble. We are going to find her." Cindy said grabbing her purse.

"Honey is that a really good idea? I mean there are people after him and " Her husband began and got a evil glare from her that shut him up.

"No one is leaving." Robert said looking at his daughter, he wasn't going to lose her because of some girl.

"We are going and that's that." Cindy said walking towards the door. She cried out in pain when her brother grabbed her arm tightly pulling her back. She felt his fingers dig into her arm and bruise it.

Jack moved forward on a reflex. Bob looked at him challenging him to try something. "He said no one was leaving."

Jack looked at him and turned towards the door. He would hot wire a car if he had to, but he was going to find Kim.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack continued to walk towards the door, he was turning the handle when he felt Bob come up behind him. Jack whirled around quickly elbowing the man in the face. Jack heard a cracking popping noise and he knew then he had just broken the mans nose.

Bob feel back grabbing his nose crying out in pain. He landed on the ground tears coming out of his eyes looking up at Jack who turned around and opened the door. He walked out of the house and was working on one of the cars, not really getting far with the hot wiring when Cindy ran out with her phone in her hand.

"It's Kim. She's on the phone now." She said once she reached him in Bob's car.

Jack took the cell phone from her and thanked her. "Are you ok?" He asked urgently.

"Yeah. Where are you Kate found Rufus in the park with blood on him and the cops are looking for you." Kim said quickly as she was extremely worried about her father.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just in the middle of something. Do me a favor please take Chase and Angela and go visit your aunt Carol." Jack said resting his head against the steering wheel all the stress of earlier wearing off some as he knew Kim was safe.

"What's wrong dad?" Kim said knowing something had to be wrong if he wanted her to go visit her aunt Carol.

"Nothing honey. Everything is fine it's just I'm sure Aunt Carol would love to see you and she hasn't meant Chase yet." Jack lied he didn't want to tell her he didn't want anyone involved in this once it was all finished he would go back to his life and forget about Robert and the rest of them.

"Dad I'm worried." Kim said not believing him.

"Just do this honey. Everything is fine. I promise you. I'll explain later. I got to go. Bye baby." Jack said hanging up the phone. He got out of the car and handed the phone back to Cindy who looked at him still shocked at what he had done to her brother. She had still not even begin to think of Jack as her brother he was still some man. They walked back into the house and Jack got dirty looks from most of the people inside. He said, "I'm sorry." He wasn't sorry, he knew if he hadn't done that he'd probably be the one lying on the floor in pain.

Cindy ushered him down the stairs and Jack sat in the small room again this time warmer than last due to the small space heater in the room. He looked at the wall, why was he still here, why wasn't he still trying to hot wire the car. He knew why, but he had to think about it before he admitted it to himself.

He stood up unable to sit in the room and walked into the family room where the TV was. He sat down on the couch CNN was still on and he watched it as they talked about yet another bombing somewhere else in the world that seemed so meaningless to people when they watched it. It was over there not over here, so why should I care. He had caught himself thinking that quite a few times. And when the TV said, "another hundred died over in" where ever they were fighting this time it never really hit home as it should. If they showed ever single picture so there was a face the nameless hundred the world would wake up hopefully.

He was brought out of his daze when he heard someone plop down next to him. Kelly smiled at him and said, "He deserved that. He's lucky you aren't in half your normal shape or he'd be worse off. That was totally cool by the way." She said smiling at him.

Jack couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah but I shouldn't have reacted like that I should of walked away." Jack said trying to set a good example.

"It wouldn't have helped at all anyways. He was going to hit you and you had to defend yourself." Kelly said not understanding why Jack felt bad about what he had done. Soon they were joined with her little brother and her cousin. She shut up and Jack let them change the channel.

Jack zoned out again in deep thought about nothing important, the past memories flooding back and he tried to hide the pain in his eyes.

Cindy walked into the room and saw Jack sitting on the couch with Kelly and her little brother next to her and Bob's little kid lying on the floor all of them watching Sponge Bob Square Pants (HELL YEAH U KNOW JACK LOVED THAT SERIES). She looked at the man on the couch that was her brother and saw the pain in his eyes. She walked over and Kelly moved over to let her mom sit down next to Jack. She saw the pain in his eyes and tapped him lightly on his good shoulder jolting him out of the daze, clearly noticeable by the way he jumped. "Can I talk to you in the other room?"

"Sure." Jack said getting up and step over the child lying on the floor. He walked into the other room and continued to follow Cindy into the small bedroom. She closed the door once he was inside and motioned for him to sit. He did as he was told and looked up with sorrow in his eyes and said, "I'm sorry I didn't meant to break his nose."

"Bob deserved that. That's not why I wanted to talk to you." Cindy said smiling at Jack. "I just wanted to know more about you. You are my brother after all. Kelly knows more about you from the news than I know about you, and soon they'll both be asking me about you and I don't know what to tell them."

"Tell them nothing. After this is all over we can all go back to the way things were." Jack said calmly as if leaving all of this behind, people who were by a technicality his family.

"Is that what you really want?" Cindy said hurt and unable to mask how hurt she was he was just going to disappear he didn't like them or something.

"I figure it'd be the easiest for all. Robert nor Bob and probably Susan for that matter don't want me here. And I don't want to get to know Robert so it would just be easier for us all to part." Jack said.

"What about me? I want to get to know you. Can't you get to know me and my family without getting to know them? I mean Kelly looks up to you even before she knew who you were, and if you walk out now I think it'll hurt her." Cindy used her daughter but she felt the same.

Jack was getting ready to answer when he heard the front door come crashing down. His eyes light up and he stood up quickly. He moved out of the room and glanced up the stairs to see men moving up the stairs to the living room. Jack motioned for Cindy to follow him and they moved into the family room where the children stood in the doorway Kelly holding them back as Jack motioned for them to stay put and be quite. Jack and Cindy moved to the room and Jack whispered, "Is there anywhere for all of you to hide at?"

Cindy shook her head yes, "We have a small back room that you wouldn't find if you didn't know it was there. We can hide them there."

Jack looked up the stairs again and no one was there so he rushed them back towards the laundry room that was right off the room he had been staying in. Once inside he silently closed the door and they stashed the kids inside. Jack smiled at Kelly and said, "You're in charge keep them quite and safe."

"Yes sir." Kelly said happy she was going to help out somehow. She was going to be a major part of the operation to save her family.

Jack looked at Cindy and there was no more room in the small hiding area for her. "Stay in here." He said going to the door.

"Jack you can't take them on. Not in your shape." Cindy said looking at him knowing there was no way he didn't even have a gun.

Kelly called from the small area in a quite voice, "He's faced worse odds."

"Kelly be quite." Cindy said looking back at Jack who slipped out of the room. He closed the door and heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. He quickly moved into the room he had been in and laid down on the bed and acted as if he had been asleep seconds before the man coming down the stairs came into view.

Jack lay on the bed with his eyes closed trying to sense where the man was. He thought he heard him breathing in the door way. Soon someone else came down the stairs and said, "Where is he?"

"In here." The man called walking into the room.

"Wake him up." The man at the foot of the steps said.

The man walked over and went to push on Jack's shoulder when Jack moved quickly kicking the man in the face from the bed. The man stumbled back and Jack got out of the bed reeling slightly in pain from the quick movements. He was getting ready to hit the man again when he heard a gun cock from behind him. He stopped in his tracks and looked back to see a man standing in the doorway with a gun aimed at him. Jack was shocked when he saw the man fall to the floor unconscious. Cindy stood behind the man holding a board in her hand she used to smack the man in the back of the head.

Jack went to go for the gun but was attacked by the man behind him and than pushed to the ground hard. Jack lay on the ground pain running thorugh his battered body. He tried to fight the man but couldn't get out from under the man and every movement made his battered body hurt worse. Cindy went after the gun and aimed it at the man on Jack. "Get off him now." She said the gun shaking slightly in her hand she wasn't use to having that much power in her hands.

Both Jack and the man looked up and saw her standing there. She saw Jack's face go from pain to worry than she felt something come down on her head. She fell to the ground unconscious. Jack slumped back to the ground in defeate. The man on him pulled on his bad arm and Jack cried out in pain. "Get up." The man growled at the man he wanted to kill.

Jack stood up shakily his battered body not willing to take much more abuse, his ribs screaming out in pain, he was sure at any moment one of them would go right through his lung. Jack watched the man that knocked Cindy out grab her off the floor and carry her up the stairs the man behind Jack pushed him forward getting a growl of pain out of Jack.

When he got to the top of the steps he noticed a glare coming off Bob and Robert. Jack was sat by the steps with a guard standing a few feet away from him. Cindy was laid next to her mother on the floor. Susan looked at her daughter noticing the blood coming out of the back of her head, she couldn't help but blame Jack for it, even if it wasn't his fault.

The man from earlier smiled as he saw Jack sitting against the wall clearly in pain. He had caused most of the damaged and he smiled. He turned to Robert and said, "now that we all are here, which one of these people do you care about? Clearly it wasn't Jackie boy." He looked over at Bob who still held his nose. "Jr. Get up." The man said walking up to Bob.

Bob glared at him but refused to move. The man grabbed a fist full of his hair and pulled him off the couch.

"I'll get your money in the morning. Just don't hurt my family." Robert said not wanting to see his son get hurt.

"That was easy." The man said letting go off Bob who once the man's hand was away from him he tried to attack the man. Bob managed to hit him in the face before the man turned around and smacked him with the barrel of his gun sending Bob down onto his father dazed. "Not that smart are you." He said smiling at Bob who was holding the side of his head now.

"What now?" Robert asked wondering if there was any way to speed up the process.

"We are just going to sit here till morning. You'll go get my money and than I'll leave you alone." The man said looking at Robert.

Cindy woke up finally with a splitting headache. She sat up slowly and surveyed the room everyone was looking at her now and she put her hand to the back of her head to feel the warm blood coming out. She winced slightly taking her hand away. She didn't see Jack at first and got worried until she saw him sitting on the other side of the room at the top of the steps.

Jack was fighting off the pain he felt and trying to focus when he heard someone whisper to him from bellow. He didn't look automatically. He made sure no one was paying attention to him. He turned his eyes to see Kelly standing there with the gun in her hand smiling at him. Jack motioned for her to go back down and she shook her head defiantly.

The man standing over Jack noticed his attention was diverted to the steps. When he looked down he saw the teenage girl pointing a gun at him. He had no time to react as she pulled the trigger and sent the bullet spiraling through the air towards his chest. The bullet knocked him back against the wall and got the others to turn their attention to Jack who sat on the ground almost in shock himself. Before Jack could react he had three guns trained on him. He sat still and wished Kelly would have went to hide, but she stood there with the gun.

The man who had tortured Jack earlier walked over towards the stairs and called out, "If you fire Jack's dead."

Jack looked at the man and said, "Wait a second. She's just a kid let me talk to her."

"You got a second." The man said never taking the gun off him.

"Drop it Kelly he will kill you. Please just drop the gun." Jack begged her.

Kelly looked up at him confused as to why he didn't come and get the gun from her. She saw the man with the gun come into view and saw he had it pointed at Jack. He threaten to pull the trigger and Jacks eyes were pleading with her to drop it. Kelly lowered the gun and looked at the man who turned to her with the gun aimed at her. Jack watched as he started to pull the trigger back. Jack moved quickly tackling the man at the right second sending the bullet flying inches above Kelly's head. Jack fought with the man on the floor the best he could with his one good hand that had broken fingers. The man smacked Jack up side the head with the gun. Jack was dazed and the man easily turned him over so he was onto of Jack pinning him down. He punched him in the face repeatedly and was going to continue until the bullet tore through his back sending him back down on top of Jack. Jack groaned as his weight was crushing his broken ribs.

The other men came towards them with their guns drawn. Jack moved his good arm out from under the main and aimed the gun firing quickly wounding the two men. Kelly ran up the stairs and moved the man off Jack and than went to her mother almost crying.

Jack sat up slowly blood coming out of various cuts on his face. Jack pushed himself to a standing position holding back the cries of pain. He walked over to the men and kicked the guns away from their grasp. He was wobbling slightly on his feet as he felt dizzy. He tried to stop himself but he fell down to the floor landing with a thump. Cindy let go of Kelly and ran to Jack she knelt by him, "Jack!" She got no response from him. She turned him over onto his back and didn't see anything new that would cause him to pass out like that. She checked his pulse and it was strong.

"Bob go downstairs and get the kids they are in the small back room." Cindy said. "Dad can you go get a glass of water."

Bob walked past Jack glaring as he went down the stairs. Robert walked into the room with a glass of water. He handed it to her daughter and watched as she sprinkled some on Jack's face. When he didn't respond she dumped the glass on his head and he jolted awake cringing in pain.

She smiled at him, "You had me worried there Jack."

Jack groaned and closed his eyes again he was so dizzy for some reason.

"We should get you to a hospital now." She said grabbing his good arm and trying to pull him up. Jack's legs didn't want to work for some reason his body was trying to shut down all of the sudden and Cindy noticed it. "Dad help me." She said knowing she wouldn't' be able to handle Jack's weight.

Robert walked over and grabbed his son off the floor carrying him out to the car. He placed him in the back seat gently and got into the driver seat. Bob came out to join them needing to have his nose tended after, Cindy got into the back with Jack and held his head in her lap. "I'll call the police once we get to the hospital." Robert told his wife before backing out to go to the hospital in town.


	9. Chapter 9

The admitting nurse had a load of questions for the three who brought the badly injured man in. She had called the police already and they were already at the hospital and also at Roberts house. Cindy had wanted to help them tend to Jack, but they needed her for questioning.

Halfway through the interrogation in the waiting room she said, "Can you please just let me check on him?" She was distraught the officer could tell.

"Sure." The officer let her walk down to the room where they were Jack lay asleep.

A doctor walked in who she had known and he smiled at her, "You did some really good work on him earlier. WE had to go back a fix a few things, but he's going to be fine."

"He fainted earlier what was that about?" Cindy asked not being able to figure out why.

"He has some massive pressure on his brain, I assume from some sort of fall."

"Yeah he fell earlier today and cracked his head on the cement." She had forgotten about it.

"On top of that, he was dehydrated some, and exhaustion. His body has gone through a lot today. He will be fine in a couple of weeks if he rest." He said looking at her. "Who is he to you anyways?" The doctor had meant most of her family and never meant this man.

"I got to go finish talking to the police officer." Cindy said leaving quickly not sure of what she was suppose to answer. She was talking to the police officer when she saw a woman that looked a lot like Jack come rushing into the hospital. She excused herself and walked over to the woman who had a man and a little girl with her. "Excuse me are you Kim?"

"yeah. Where is my father is he ok?" Kim asked at first than finally, "Who are you?"

"We spoke earlier on the phone I'm Cindy. Follow me I'll take you to his room. He's sleeping right now." Cindy walked Kim to the room and smiled at Chase, "Hello I'm Cindy."

Chase shook her hand shifting Angela's weight onto his left hand. "Nice to meet you."

"I'll leave you guys alone." Cindy said walking back out to the police officer who informed her he was finished with the questions for now.

Her father walked over to her a few minutes later and asked, "How is he?"

"he'll be fine." Cindy said walking away angry at her father still. She stood outside Jack's room not wanting to interrupt them. Robert waked up beside her and than just walked into the room.

Chase looked at him and practically glared at him. Robert saw the glare and ignored it.

Kim noticed the man and asked, "Who are you?"

"Robert Perrin." He said holding out his hand to shake. Kim didn't take it and only looked at him. "I guess you can say I'm Jack's father."

Kim's mouth dropped open she finally saw the resemblance between her father and the man. "But he said you were dead?"

"Did he. Probably would have been better off if I was." Robert said feeling bad about what Jack had said.

"Where were you all these years?" kim asked thinking maybe he had a great excuse.

Jack heard them talking as he slowly came around again. He opened his eyes to see Kim staring at Robert. Jack frowned and said, "Leave." In a low growl.

Kim noticed her father was awake and she quickly addressed him, "Why did you lie to me about this dad?"

"Kim not now." Jack snapped in a weak harsh voice. "You leave now."

"I just wanted to say I was sorry Jack." Robert said looking in his sons eyes seeing nothing but hatred staring back at him. "I'll leave. If you need anything please don't hesitate to call me." Robert left with his head held high he didn't want to be apart of Jack's life anyways he was just making it easier on them both.

Cindy walked into the room and smiled, "It's nice to see you awake again how are you feeling?"

"My head is pounding and I'm sure once the drugs wear off I'll be back to the pain. But other than that Doc you did a good job." Jack joked changing from hatred to kindness quickly.

"That's good. I think you made Kelly's day probably year today. She'll be talking about how she helped Jack Bauer stop the men who threatened her family."

Jack smiled, "She's a good kid thank her for me." Jack moved slightly wincing in pain as he did so.

"I'd like to talk to you again if I can." Cindy said, "I really would like you to be apart of the family. You are after all."

"Sure." Jack said having no intention of ever seeing her again, but like with distant friends you always promised to call without ever meaning to just to be civil.

"Bye Jack."

"Bye." Jack watched her leave and than Kim started in with the questions.

"Who's that?"

"I guess she would be your aunt." Jack said wishing Kim would shut up.

"I had this entire family you never told me about." Kim started in.

"Kim I barely knew about most of them myself until today. Your grandfather you want to know what he did? He got your grandmother pregnant left her because she came from the wrong side of town. When she died he refused to take me into his custody and left me with my stepfather. He's such a great man. You are more than welcome to go find him and play happy family if you want." Jack snapped angrily wincing in pain as he started to almost yell.

"Sorry." Kim said knowing she did not know the hole story and had no reason to judge her father.

It took a day before Jack started to become a pain in the ass trying to go home. Finally he took it on his own to call a cab and check himself out of the hospital. Kim found out when a friend of hers that worked at the hospital called her telling her what her father was doing. Kim found him before he called the cab and said, "I'll drive you home. But you got to rest some dad."  
  
She helped him into the car and drove him to his apartment. He opened the door and walked inside remembering Rufus, "Do you know where Rufus is?"  
  
"Kate has him. She found him in the park after" Kim stopped she wasn't sure what happened in the park. "She'll bring him by later." Kim smiled at him, "You want me to make you something to eat?"  
  
"No I'm not hungry. I'm going to lie down for awhile. Thanks Kim." Jack said walking down the hallway and lying in his bed. Kim left a little while after he had fallen asleep locking the door behind her. She ran into the man she now knew as her grandfather coming up the stepps. "Can I help you?" She said looking at him with both curiousity and anger.  
  
"I was looking for Jack. They told me he checked himself out."  
  
"Yeah he's asleep." Kim said looking him over now with just anger.  
  
Robert noticed how much she was like her father and smiled, "Ok. I'll come back later."  
  
"Don't bother. I don't know what you did or didn't do, but I don't want you in his life. He was doing so well until you came along. And now he's injured again. Leave him alone. Do what you've done since the day he was born. I don't know the entire story, and he won't tell me and I don't think I want to know. Just leave him alone." Kim said pushing past him in anger.  
  
Robert felt something, pain of a sort. His granddaughter that is what she was after all had just blown him off and warned him away from his son. He knew what he had done was wrong, or at least he would be willing to say it was if he didn't believe it a hundred percent, but he was trying to make up for it. He walked up to Jack's door and stood outside for a minute he tried the handle and heard the lock. He stood there for a minute deciding whether to knock or not finally he just returened to his car watching to make sure no one was coming after Jack again. The main boss's were in town now, and pissed off at him.  
  
A few hours later Kate called Kim about getting Rufus back to Jack. Kate didn't have a key to the apartment and she wanted to let Jack have his dog back, and get to see him. Kim told her to meet her over there and she'd let her in if her father wasn't awake. They meant outside the building and walked upstairs Rufus excitedly following. Kim knocked on the door and waited when there was no answer she used her key to let them in. Once the door opened Rufus ran quickly past them to the back room where Jack lay on the waterbed sound asleep. Rufus jumped up on the bed and stepped on Jack's shoulder. Jack jumped up crying out in pain as Rufus licked his face. Jack smiled through the pain and moved Rufus with his left hand. He pushed himself up and groaned slightly. Both women heard the cry of pain than the groan and were in the doorway.  
  
Kim called, "Rufus!" The dog looked up at her with puppy dog eyes knowing she was mad at him.  
  
"It's ok boy." Jack said petting him. He saw Kate in the doorway and suddenly felt embarrassed from his lack of clothes on he only had boxers on he had stripped down earlier before going to bed. "Thanks from keeping him." Jack said standing up. He grabbed his shirt and slipped it on covering the bruises and the bandages. He grimaced as he moved his right arm the dislocated shoulder giving him problems along with the bullet wound.  
  
"No problem. You had us all worried." Kate said smiling at him. Kim left them alone to go and cook food for him, she knew he hadn't eaten in awhile.  
  
Kate walked over and helped him button his shirt up. Jack felt her touch him and his body responded to the touch enjoying it. He tried to hide it from his eyes and his movements but he had missed her. "I can get it." He said in a rough voice.  
  
"Ok." Kate said moving away, why was she here, why was she helping him. She didn't want him back she had left him. Kate walked out of the room and joined Kim in the kitchen. Jack walked out with his shirt and pants on barefooted he smelled the food and heard his stomach growl for the first time in awhile.  
  
Kim set the plate of eggs on the table and ordered, "Eat."  
  
Jack sat down and ate with both women watching him. He felt insecure and was happy when a knock came on the door. Kim went to the door and opened it Cindy stood in the doorway almost frantic.  
  
"Can I speak to jack please." Cindy said looking at Kim.  
  
Kim stepped aside letting her in.  
  
Jack looked at her and diverted his eyes he didn't really want to talk to her, but than he noticed a frantic look on her face.  
  
"Kelly's missing. She went to school today and her car and she's gone. She never made it to her first class. I can't find her I've called her cell phone, I've called all of her friends and no one knows where she is at. No one will help me till she's been missing for 24 hours. I don't know what to do, she would never just go missing like this."  
  
Jack felt his stomach turn he could only guess, "You have no idea where she would be?"  
  
"No. Not at all." She said almost in tears.  
  
Jack stood up and walked over to her, "We'll find her calm down and think about what she was wearing today and maybe any reason why she might want to runaway." Jack was moving her gently towards a chair when there was a knock on the door, and than the door opened.  
  
Robert walked into the house wondering why Cindy had been there. He noticed her in tears almost and he glared at Jack, "What did you do to her?"  
  
"Nothing." Jack said glaring at his father.  
  
"Kelly's missing." Cindy said trying to diffuse the situation before it got out of control.  
  
"What?" Robert said feeling his blood run cold. "How long?"  
  
"Since this morning." Cindy said. "I came to see if Jack could help me find her."  
  
"What about the police?"  
  
"They wont' do anything until she's missing for 24 hours."  
  
Jack noticed something about Robert, guilt or something like it in his body language. "Robert can I talk to you outside. Kim get Cindy something to drink." Jack said moving across the room to the door with Robert following him outside. "What are you in Robert? Whoever is pissed at you has her, or at least that's what you are thinking."

Robert glared at Jack, "Don't you ever talk to me like that again."

"I'm trying to help Kelly here. Take whatever lame ass feelings you might have and put them away because Kelly is the most important thing here not you nor me. We don't matter there is a teenage girls life at stake." Jack wanted to add more but he bit his tongue.

"You're right." Robert said disappointed at himself.

"So who is after you and why?" Jack said almost shocked by Roberts admission to him being right.

"I can't Jack." Robert said looking down to the floor he couldn't tell anyone there was to much that he did wrong, and he'd have to admit it if he told the truth.

"Robert if you don't tell me than Kelly is going to" Jack didn't get to finish the sentence when he heard Cindy scream for him. Jack ran into the apartment and she was looking at his cell phone, "It's Kelly's phone. They left a message." She looked at his phone almost in tears.

Jack grabbed the phone and called his voice mail box. He listened as he heard a man speak into the phone than Kelly. "If you want to see her again I'd answer the phone next time I call." Jack hung the phone up and tried to reassure Cindy, "I'll get her back."

"Jack you can't not in your shape call the police or someone."

Robert looked almost freaked now. Jack noticed it and said, "I can do it. I've done a lot worse in a lot worse condition. We'll just make the trade right Robert." Jack said looking at him.

He shook his head he was a pale color now. Jack noticed and said, "Maybe you should sit down."

Robert found the couch and collapsed onto it. Cindy noticed his face and rushed to him, "Daddy are you ok? Is it your heart?" She said grabbing his wrist and feeling for his pulse, which was quick and irregular. "Where is your medication dad?" She said looking him in the eyes.

Kate rushed out of the room and got a glass of water returning with it handing it to Cindy who helped her dad take a pill.

Jack's cell phone rang again. He answered it, "Bauer."

"Who in the hell is Bauer?" The man said into the phone in a thick Spanish accent.

"Let me talk to Kelly." Jack said not answering the mans question.

"Who in the fuck is Bauer?"

"I'm her uncle." Jack said almost feeling weird by saying it. "Let me speak to her than we can deal with whatever you want."

The man put the phone to Kelly's ear.

"Mom?" Kelly said scared.

"No it's Jack. Have they hurt you?"

"No Jack." She said she watned to break down and cry to her hero, but she felt a little hope if he was talking to her than that meant she had a chance to survive.

The man came back on the phone, "Jack. This is the deal Robert owes us some money. Six hundred thousand to be exact. Have him take the money outside the school where Kelly goes."

"He can't." Jack began but the man cut him off.

"Why not?"

"He's really sick. I'll do it instead." Jack said hoping the man would bite.

"What was your name again Jack?"

"Bauer." Jack answered wondering about the question, "But this has nothing to do with the deal."

"Bring the money in a briefcase to the school stand in front. Don't contact the police, or anyone else. You will get further instructions there come alone or she's dead, and than you're dead." The man hung the phone up.

Jack lowered the phone and looked at Robert, "Do you have six hundred thousand?"

"I've got it. I just need to go to the bank and get it." Robert said trying to control his breathing.

"Are you going to be ok enough to go get it now?"

"Yeah let's go." He said getting up.

Jack looked at Kim and said, "Take care of her while I'm gone. Cindy I'll bring Kelly back to you I promise."

Jack had a hard time driving with his broken fingers and no use of his right arm. By time he got to the bank he thought he had it under control, but not without pain. Robert came out a half hour later with the money in a briefcase. He set in on the seat and said, "let me go with you. This is my mess I should bet he one to clean it up. And you are barely."

Jack stopped him, "You are in no condition and they said to come alone. I'll drop you back by the house."

The drive back to the house was silent beside the noise that filtered in from the outside world. Robert asked him one more time to let him come along before he got out and Jack just said, "Close the door."

Robert watched his son drive off and he wondered if that would be the last time he saw the man he barely knew yet he was his son.

Jack drove to the school and parked the car on the side. He walked to the front carrying the briefcase in two fingers that weren't broken. He set it on the ground next to him and stood there.

His cell phone rang and he answered it, "What now?"

"Listen carefully I won't repeat. Take your watch off and any other piece of jewelry. Put them back in your car along with the cell phone once you have done this a man will pull up he will search you for anything. Than he will search the money. You will get in the car with him and he will drive you to Kelly."

"I understand."

"Good do it."

Jack walked back to the car tossing his cell phone inside and his watch. He closed the door and watched as a car pulled in. The man got out and walked over to Jack. He searched him quickly finding the necklace Jack forgot to take off with the wedding ring on it. He eyed it suspiciously than ripped it off Jack's neck throwing it into the open window of the car.

"Get in the passenger side of the car."

Jack walked over and opened the door with his good hand getting in putting his seat belt on. The man got in putting the briefcase in the back seat. He started the car and took off towards some unknown location.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack watched as they moved from the busy streets to the deserted streets of the industrial part of Los Angles. He never once spoke to the man nor did the man even acknowledge his presence until he pulled into a run down apartment building that was missing most if not all of its windows in front. Jack's stomach tightened as the car came to a complete stop and the man turned it off. They were at their destination.

The man got out of the car grabbing the briefcase. Jack followed his movements following the man through the rocky front of the building into the doorway that reeked of human feces. Jack tried to breath through his mouth, but the smell still invaded his nostrils. He walked into the building his eyes taking there time to adjust to the dimness. He stepped over the broken bottles and old needles that littered the floor of the hallway.

The man led him down the dirty hallway up a flight of stairs that Jack feared would cave it at any moment. Creaking under their weight whoever was waiting for them knew they were on their way up. On the third floor the man finally opened the metal door to the floor. Jack followed him through the bad smell subsiding. This hallway was cleaner than the others and the stairs. They walked to the first open door and once inside the man ordered, "Sit."

Jack saw the chair in the center of the room and walked over taking a seat after examining the room quickly. He had not heard or seen any sign of Kelly yet, and that made his already nervous stomach even worse off. He heard a laugh from the other room and looked in that direction as if he could see through the wall. Jack watched as the man took the brief case and walk out of the room, Jack went to protest when the door closed and Jack heard a lock. He knew the lock was purely a symbol he could have very easily even in his state bust through the door, but he sat there helpless to what was happening, gripped with fear of the unknown. This was not knew to him, but it was weird to care for someone he knew very little about.

Unsure of how long it was the door finally opened and the man with the briefcase entered with another man Jack recognized automatically behind him.

"It's not all there. You are a thousand short." The man with the briefcase said glaring at Jack.

"The bank must have messed up." Jack hoped it was just the bank.

"Jack is this one of your tricks? I thought they were told not to bring in anyone." A chilling voice said.

"They didn't involve CTU. You guys called me." Jack said looking at him the fear creeping inside of him.

"What is this person to you?"

"None of your business." Jack said knowing that any relationship with him would only make whatever Kelly's plight might be worse.

The briefcase man walked over to Jack punching him in the face and sending Jack troubling to the ground. Jack groaned when he hit the ground, blooding coming out of his mouth from the powerful punch to the face. He spit some out and pushed himself up, his ribs screaming in pain.

The man smiled at him, "About the thousand . . ."

Jack cut him off, "I'll have to call Robert."

"Not so fast." The man said looking Jack over taking note of his battered body already. "How well did you search him earlier?" He asked looking at the briefcase man.

"Not good enough." The briefcase man said standing over Jack.

"Get up Jack." The man watched as Jack struggled to his feet trying to hide the pain of moving, but his eyes betraying him.

The briefcase man started to search Jack again. He ordered, "Take your arm out of the sling."

Jack looked at him and worked with his left hand and struggled undoing the sling. When it came loose Jack closed his eyes blocking the pain of his arm dropping on it's own. He dropped the sling on the ground, opening his eye he looked at the man who started to pat down Jack's shoulder. Jack cried out in pain when the man hit his shoulder blade and the gunshot wound. Jack felt his legs go weak as he almost collapsed on the floor before he got himself under control again.

The other man eyed Jack suspiciously. "Take your shirt off." He ordered assuming this was just one of Jack's many tricks.

Jack pulled the shirt over his head and stood their the bandage had a small amount of blood coming through and his shoulder was bruised to a dark purple color.

"Good enough." He said seeing Jack stand there his battered body showing through. He smiled to himself this was to easy.

Jack spoke through clinched teeth, "Where is Kelly?"

"In another room don't worry." The man said looking over Jack still. "About the thousand call whoever you have to."

"Let me see her first." Jack said not willing to do anything until he knew she was fine.

"Make the call first."

"No let me see her now." Jack said letting the man know he wasn't going to give in.

The man crossed the small distance between them and quickly grabbed Jack's broken fingers squeezing tightly he said, "No you will make the call and like it."

Jack ended up on his knee's crying out in pain trying to get his hand back. The man let go of his fingers and threw the phone against his battered chest, "Make the call now or you'll get worse and so will she."

Jack was still on his knees out of breath as the wave of pain ran through his body consuming his mind. He grabbed the phone off the floor a dialed with a groan as his fingers shot pain through his entire arm. The phone rang a few times and Robert finally answered, "hello?"

"Robert you are short a thousand." Jack said the pain in his voice evident.

Robert already knew it god they checked the money. "Where are you?"

Jack was about ready to answer when the man came over yanking the phone from him, "Bring the thousand to the same spot before. YOU do it this time or else the girl and Jack are dead."

"I will you just have to give me time."

"Oh time is what you want lets see . . ." The man looked at Jack who was still on his knees he nodded at one of his men who walked over and placed the barrel of his gun against Jack's head. He awaited the nod from his boss to pull the trigger. Jack looked at the man he knew as Thomas smiling at him, Jack held the fear inside, but it was very present inside if not in his body language or his eyes.

"Time is something I have. But I do have a gun pressed against Jack's head and the man is waiting for my order to pull the trigger so what will it be?"

"Can I have a few hours that's all I need. I will get you the money, I swear."

"Like you got me the money last time?"

"I will get it this time I swear just don't do anything please." Robert was almost begging.

"I'll make you a deal for every hour it takes you to get here I'll break something on Jack's body or shoot him when I get tired of that. To start out with why don't we make sure he can't run away this time." Thomas walked over to Jack and the man with the gun helped him stand. Thomas took the mans gun and aimed it at Jack's leg, "Let's hope I do this right hate to hit an aritery or a vein and kill you so early when we could have so much fun." Thomas smiled at Jack as he pulled the trigger of the gun.

Jack felt the bullet tear through his thigh as he fell to the ground crying out in pain clutching his side.

Robert heard it on the other side and he almost dropped the phone.

"You have another hour before I break the rest of his fingers." Thomas said hanging up the phone. He turned to Jack who was on the floor breathing heavily through the pain trying to hold pressure on the wound.

Thomas bent down pulling Jack's hands away, he looked at it. "At least you aren't going to bleed to death." Thomas said pushing on it and eliciting a screech from Jack as well as Jack tensing his body. "Jack I've missed you. I thought after the Salazar's I'd never get to see you again. I should thank you for handling those two idiots. It helped me rise above my servitude status with some work and look where I am now."

Jack asked through clinched teeth, "What's this all about?"

"Not yet. But how about we move you to the room with Ms. Kelly." Thomas said looking at his men who each grabbed an arm eliciting another cry from Jack as they pulled on his dislocated shoulder with the bullet hole in it. The pulled him down the dirty hallway into another apartment. They dropped him on the floor, a small blood trail leading to the room from Jack's gun shot wound. They opened the door and Jack could hear Kelly crying in the room he was pulled into the room and left in the center. When the door closed Kelly rushed over to him tears streaming down her face, "Jack are you ok?" She saw the blood coming from his hip and looked at him worried.

Kelly took the sweater she had on and pressed against the wound in Jack's leg. Jack growled in pain and she joked, "Quit being such a big baby." She smiled at him and he returned the smile. "Does trouble just wait for you? Follow you like a bad smell?"

"I think sometimes." Jack said trying to block out the pain.

"What's going on now?"

"I don't know something your grandfather is in too."

"Are you really his son? That means you are my Uncle right?"

"Yeah I guess." Jack said closing his eyes.

"Why didn't you grow up with my mom then? Did he just abandoned you?"

"Something like that. I don't know for sure all I have his my mothers story." Jack was looking around the room distracted trying to find a way out. They were up to far to jump out the boarded window, and while he could easily get through the door, there were armed guards outside. He thought of something than, it would have to work. "Listen to me Kelly I'm going to need you to help me with something."

Excited to help Jack again, "Sure what?"

"I'm going to distract the guards. When I do I want you to run away get away from here."

"But they'll kill you."

"No they won't. They need me to get to Robert." Jack said hoping he was right.

"I can't leave you." She said not willing to budge.

"You have to. You are too young and they will kill you once he gives them the money they have no intention of letting you go after you've seen their faces. You got to do this. I'll be right behind you." Jack said moving some growling in pain wishing he hadn't.

"Jack you can barely walk." Kelly said looking at him.

"Just do this Kelly. It's better to retreat to fight another day than stay around and get killed. If you want to be like me than you have to do what I tell you." Jack said looking at her trying to play the last card he had.

"Jack you never run from a situation even when you are out numbered."

"Kelly do you know why I left CTU?"

"No." She said.

"During the Salazar's operation I compromised. I got addicted to heroin." Jack was telling her this trying to get through, "I compromised. I gave in."

"they made you."

"NO they didn't I started taking it before I was even on the books with them. Now you have to do this. Please." He said almost pleading.

She was angry with him for what he had told her, for what he was trying to make her do.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack pushed himself to a standing position using the wall to hold himself up. He moved forward slowly pain shooting through his leg and fingers. He moved to the door and opened it, it was unlocked. He walked out into the hallway and to his surprise there weren't any guards. He walked down the hall some until he crossed the room where Thomas and the others sat once they noticed him they came after him. Jack moved away from the room as quick as he could hoping to give Kelly time to run out. When they caught up with him one of the guards punched him in the kidneys sending him to the floor with a cry of pain. A few more came upon him looking down at him, he was withering in pain as his broken ribs cried out in pain as well as his shoulder that hit the ground, and his kidney.

The guards grabbed him off the floor and dragged him into the room where Thomas sat smiling at Jack's plight. He ordered one of the men, "Go check on the girl." Thomas looked at the others and said, "String him up. We'll call Robert soon."

The guards found some rope and tied Jack's hands using a hole in the ceiling to throw the rope over pulling down on it tightly they raised Jack off the floor the beam holding his weight. Jack cried out in pain as his arms were pulled above his head his shoulder spasming in pain. He closed his eyes as the immense pain overtook his mind.

"Hurts don't it." Thomas said looking at him visibly seeing the amount of pain Jack was in. He laughed until the man he sent to check on Kelly came back.

"She's gone sir."

Jack smiled through the pain she had listened to him.

"God Damnit. You had one job. One fucking job to watch them." Thomas turned his anger back to Jack. "Call Robert I want the money now or I start cutting this mother fucker open."

One of the men handed Thomas the phone. "Robert you have my money?"

"I almost have it." Robert said looking at the woman he barely knew, Kate Warner withdrawing the money for him. He had to borrow the money he didn't have it. He barely had the money he used to pay with before. He was essentially broke now.

"Not good enough." Thomas said pulling out his knife. Jack looked at him trying not to show the fear he felt.

"Hold on I'm at the bank now. I will have it in less than ten minutes." Robert screamed into the phone getting a few looks from people around.

"Not good enough."

"NO please don't. I got it." Robert said.

"Too bad." Thomas inserted the knife into Jack's side making sure not to go to far in, but far enough to cause a substanel amount of bleeding. He ran the knife down until he had a two inch cut that was bleeding quite well.

Jack screamed out in pain, the scream echoing in the room. Robert closed his eyes on the other line, "I got the money please stop hurting him."

"Be at the school every ten minutes I don't have the money another cut Jack gets."

"What about Kelly?" Robert asked.

"You'll get her too." Thomas said hanging up the phone angry still looking at Jack who's eyes were half closed in pain.

Kate gave Robert the money she was worried about Jack and willing to help out in anyway. After Robert broke down in front of them saying he had no more money and he was broke Kate automatically offered to get the rest for him in faith he would pay her back once he got everything back into order, which she assumed would never happen, but she knew he was a man of pride, and she knew how to deal with those men.

They were walking out of the bank when Roberts cell phone rang it was Cindy. As soon as he answered it Cindy said, "Kelly escaped. I'm going to get her now with Kim. It seems Jack distracted them for her." Cindy could only guess at what cost, and she was grateful for it, she thought almost in tears at the thought if she saw him again she would owe him.

Robert suddenly thought about not going to the meeting.

Roberts phone rang and he looked at it, it was the people who were holding Jack should he answer it? Kate noticed him and said, "Answer it." She knew what he was thinking by his clear body language and facial expressions.

"Hello." Robert said opening the phone.

"Do you have my money now?"

"Yes." Robert said closing his eyes.

"Than why aren't you at the school?"

"You'll never see this money." Robert said with some strength behind the statement. He had to pull the phone from his ear as a scream came over clearly from Jack.

Kate who stood away from Robert could even hear the scream. She was ready to attack Robert, why was he doing this it wasn't like it was his money. She went over to grab the phone from him but he just moved it away closing it.

"What are you doing?" She screamed angry almost in tears.

"I can't keep giving in to them."

"They have Jack, and it's not your money. Give me it." She said trying to grab the bag that contained the money she would go to the school herself. Did it matter who they got the money from, she doubted it.

"No." He said moving away.

Jack eyes were closed he was conscious unfortunately he tried to stay still as he felt the blood trickling down his back from the knew down his arm. The blood trickled down his arm, onto the floor or down his back than. He was trying to block the pain out when Thomas walked up to him with the bloody knife still. "Jack how is your daughter Kim?"

Jack opened his eyes at the mention of Kim he didn't want her involved he had already concluded that Robert wasn't going to pay the last bit of money now that Kelly was free, Jack knew his death would come, hopefully in a less painful manner than Thomas was making it out to be.

"I'm going to give you a chance to save yourself and her because when I finish with you I will move onto her and the rest of Roberts family. Very simple you are going to get Robert to pay me the money. Beg him to do it if you must." Thomas said looking at Jack who's eyes where half closed he was tired he knew it was from the blood lost and he knew he couldn't take much more.

Thomas dialed Roberts number for Jack and one of the taller men held the phone up to Jack's ear. Thomas walked behind Jack pressing the knife in between his shoulder blades barely breaking the skin. Jack felt the cold metal against his back and closed his eyes while he waited for Robert to answer.

Kate snatched the phone from Robert when it rang again, "Hello. I'll give you your money just don't hurt Jack anymore." She said into the phone urgently.

Jack's voice was weak and cracked as he felt the knife go in deeper, "It's Jack let me talk to Robert."

Kate handed Robert the phone and said, "It's Jack."

Robert didn't want to take the phone and Kate threatened him, "Either take the phone or I'm calling the cops. I'm sure they'll be interested in all that is going on."

Robert took the phone.

Jack felt the knife as it went deeper in. Thomas pushed it until blood dripped down Jack's back from the new wind. Jack cried in pain and tried to start to convince Robert, "Please just pay him the money. I'll pay you back." Jack said as the knife was still in his back.

"I can't Jack. I'm not giving into him anymore." Robert said feeling like the asshole he was at the moment and Kate's glares not helping.

Thomas whispered in Jack's ear, "Remember Kim you better start begging." He brought the knife down more Jack screamed out again.

Robert and Kate heard the screams and Robert was getting ready to close the phone when he heard Jack's weak voice call out again.

"Dad please." Jack closed his eyes again hating himself for going to this point. "Please help me."

Robert heard him call him dad and suddenly felt like the hugest asshole ever. He didn't want to pay the money but than he heard the loudest scream from Jack yet and than the sound of the phone disconnecting.

Jack was withering in pain as Thomas had pulled the knife down the length of his spine blood spilling from the cut.

"We'll give him a little while see if he goes through with it." Thomas said wiping the knife off on Jack's arm. He walked out of the room and the others followed leaving Jack to bleed.

Robert had tears in his eyes, who was he now? Had he always been this callous? He was really willing and had listen to Jack's cries of pain and never did anything about it. How could he? This wasn't him. All of this ran through him as he moved quickly to the car to go to the school. He couldn't believe himself, and suddenly was disgusted in himself. Kate followed him saying, "Call my friend Joe Anthony. He's a detective, but he owes me. He can provide back up, and I'll call Chase to help out. I don't think they are just freely going to give Jack over."

"Don't worry I'll make a trade." Robert pulled the phone out and dialed the number.

Thomas answered, "Robert call to tell me to finish the job off on your son. You are one cold hearted bastard."

"No. I called to make a deal. I'll give you the money and you let Jack go."

"No can do. I'll make his death easy but I owe him for some things."

"I"ll trade him places. Leave him alone. You can kill me." Robert said shocking Kate and himself, but he was suddenly willing to do it he had just woken up to the person he was, and he hated that person.

"Fine." Thomas would just kill them both, why not they both deserved it.

Robert hung the phone up and told Kate, "Call Chase, and Joe. You sure you can trust these people?"

"Chase was Jack's partner and I know Joe he's trustworthy." Kate knew him well and Robert could sense it.

"Fine." Robert said knowing they would have to move quickly.

On the drive over Kate called Robert and said, "Chase and Anthony are already in position at the school. They will follow you discreetly. They are in two separate cars so it shouldn't be to hard."

"Ok." Robert said feeling his nerves act up. He hung the phone up and called Thomas back.

"Robert what is it?" Thomas said impatiently awaiting the time he could kill the father and son.

"I want to talk to Jack to make sure he is still alive."

"Fine." Thomas said walking into the room where Jack hung bleeding. He placed the phone up to Jack's mouth and pushed on one of the cuts. Jack screamed in pain and than finally lost unconsciousness.

"He's asleep now but you heard him. Where are you?"

"I'm almost at the school." Robert said hanging up.


	12. Chapter 12

Robert stood out front of the school class's were already out for the day and he was sure he looked funny standing out there, but he didn't care. He waited trying to control the fear he felt, a part of his mind screamed from him to run away. But he stood his ground waiting for them to come, knowing he was probably waiting on his death.

The man approached him and said, "Where is the money?"

"Where is Jack?"

"Follow me." The man said knowing Robert would not be stupid enough to show him the money until he saw Jack.

Robert followed him to the same car that had picked Jack up earlier. They drove through the city Robert didn't look back to see if anyone was following him he knew it would give them away if they were. He prayed they were, he prayed for himself, and Jack.

They reached the old building and the man led him through the decrypted building to the floor and room that Jack hung in with Thomas staring at him. Robert almost gasped when he walked in, he thought Jack was dead by the way he swung with his head hung, eyes closed body limp. Robert walked over to him quickly. He felt Jack's neck and felt a pulse.

"The money Robert?" Thomas said staring at them.

"Cut him down now." Robert said knowing the position he was in was not helping his shoulder. Robert saw the blood that covered him and hated himself for letting it happened, how could he? How could he have looked out after himself and the rest of his family, but not Jack? Jack was his son his own flesh and blood. But than he had done it most of Jack's life. He didn't know the extent of what Jack's stepfather had done to both Jack and his mother, he could only guess, yet he never tried to help. He knew Jack's mother stayed with the man because he had the money to help her raise Jack. He had checked into it quite awhile before she died, and yet he never did do anything for fear word would get out about Jack and her.

"let me see the money first." Thomas said not budging.

Robert opened the bag in his hands and said, "See it now let him down."

Thomas walked over and with the knife that was still covered in Jack's blood he cut the rope above Jack's hands nicking one of Jack's fingers as he did so. Jack responded with a small grown until he felt himself falling and than a louder cry escaped him as he hit the ground. Robert had dropped the bag trying to grab Jack before he crashed to the ground but he was unsuccessful in grabbing Jack. He knelt down by Jack and looked over him. Blood was coming out of various cuts, Robert noticed the gun shot wound that had stopped bleeding on Jack's hip. He saw the cuts on Jack's back and the long cut down Jack's spine. "I'm so sorry." Robert said almost in tears from seeing all the damage done to Jack.

Thomas grabbed the money and started to count it to make sure it was all there. Robert helped Jack into a sitting position. He felt Jack's skin and it was cold and clammy and Jack was clearly disorientated. Robert wasn't sure what to do for him to help him, Robert froze and felt his heart skip when he saw Thomas turn to them with the knife in hand. "It's all there." Thomas said his men moved forward towards Robert and Jack.

Robert stood up and moved in front of Jack to protect him. "We had a deal."

"I lied." Thomas said. "Now father and son can die together. A nice little story to tell."

Robert glared at Thomas, and Thomas for a second thought it was Jack only older looking. Jack sat on the floor praying for death so the pain would subside, but death wasn't coming yet.

The window behind Jack, one of the only ones left not broken out, shattered as a bullet tore through it connecting with Thomas's shoulder. Thomas dropped the knife crying out in pain. Robert grabbed the knife and he didn't know what to do with it.

He stood there dumbfounded the others afraid to move towards him because of a sniper that must be outside.

Thomas was on the ground holding his shoulder. He moved some and Robert finally noticed him moving towards Jack. Robert reached down grabbing Thomas's hurt shoulder, but before he could do anything one of the men fired on him hitting him in the arm. Robert grabbed his arm crying out in pain. A bullet came from the door hitting the man that shot Robert. The man in the doorway who Jack nor Robert knew shot the other men in the room. He stayed in the door way and asked, "You guys ok?"

Robert was holding his arm as blood poured out, "Yeah." Robert kneeled down and grabbed the knife he had dropped earlier. He kneeled by Thomas and said, "You never should have fucked with my son." Robert plunged the knife down right into Thomas's heart.

Jack and the man in the door way both looked on with shock. Jack tried to move, but felt noting but pain so he just leaned back as he felt the fatigue set over him again the initial shock of seeing Robert there than the death of Thomas ran through his mind as he closed his eyes.

Joe Anthony walked into the room finally after he saw Chase come up the stairs with the sniper rifle. Joe walked over to Jack and grabbed him gently, "Let's get you two to the hospital."

"I can't." Robert said.

"Don't worry we'll pin it all on Thomas kidnapping and blackmailing you about his knowledge of who Jack is. They'd want him dead anyways."

"Whys that?"

"From what I got from Chase while we were outside Thomas worked for the Salazars. That was the cartel Jack took down single-handly almost last year."

Robert looked at his son, yes his son and he remembered how angry Jack had been when he asked him about the drugs. He had just assumed Jack was weak and did them because that's what he did, but Robert knew who the Salazar's were and he knew what they were into. "Let's go." Robert said moving to help move Jack downstairs.

Chase cleared the house and followed them down. He saw Jack's condition and shook his head. He hated Robert right now, he didn't' know all of the facts behind the situation, but he was sure this was mostly his mess. Kate had made it clear of how Robert was acting, and how Jack felt about him, and if Jack couldn't stand him than there was good reason for Chase not to be able to either.

Chase watched Jack and Robert closely the entire way to the hospital. Once they got there the guy who Kate had called Joe talked to the nurse about what had happened showing his badge and all. Chase almost laughed as they ushered Jack in like he was a king or something. Joe had some connections. Joe sat with Chase while he waited to hear about Jack's condition. They got to talking and Chase told him about Jack's past, and Kim. Joe told him about his own child who had died and about his ex-wife. They started to trade war stories when the Robert walked in with his arm bandaged up. Chase ignored him and began to tell the story about the scar on his wrist as Joe had asked about it earlier.

When he finished both Joe and Robert were looking at him as if he were crazy. "Jack did what he had to do, and saved my life too."

"You got some balls." Joe said in shock from the story.

"Oh that's nothing." Chase was getting ready to start the entire day of the coredllia virus when the nurse walked in. "Mr. Bauer is all fixed up and sleeping soundly. We had to give him a blood transfusion and he's pretty beat up, but he'll live. We have him on a morphine drip and he'll be out of it for awhile."

"When can I see him?" Chase asked.

"I'd come back tomorrow he needs to rest now."

"What about his daughter she should be here soon?"

"She can have a few minutes with him, but he really needs the rest."

Kim came into the room than. She saw Chase and she had been clearly crying. Kate was behind her with Kelly and Cindy. Kim ran up to Chase and hugged him. Kate walked over to Joe and smiled at him. "Thank you." She said kissing him.

"He's fine Kim." Chase said as he felt her crying.

Kim pushed away from him and glared at Robert she didn't say anything she bit her tongue and walked out of the room to find her fathers room.

Kim walked into the room and Jack was still asleep. She brushed his face gently trying to avoided any of the bruises. She took in all the damage and she kissed him on the cheek, "Everything is going to be fine now dad. I understand why you didn't tell me about Robert. I'm sorry he's your father. I'll come back tomorrow they won't let me stay. You get some rest." Kim kissed his hand and walked out of the room. She found Chase and the others waiting for her.

Kate smiled weakly at her and said, "Let's go get some supper."

Kim went to protest but Kate insisted. "I know you haven't eaten and Chase was just getting ready to tell Joe a story he had to hear."

Kim looked at Chase and chase raised his hands in defense, "Hey he asked."

Robert looked at them and sat down he wasn't going to leave until he got a chance to talk to Kim. No one paid attention to him he was the asshole and they all knew it. Robert fell asleep in the chair waiting to talk to Jack.

Cindy came to the hospital to find her father and her brother. She saw her father asleep in an almost empty room. She smiled and walked right on back to Jack's room knowing where it was. She entered the room and Jack was still asleep. She sat down by his bed and studied his medical chart. When she finished she looked up to see him awake, his eyes open and searching the room. She smiled at him, "How do you feel?"

"I should feel like shit, but I don't feel anything." Jack said smiling.

"That would be those lovely drugs being pumped into." She said, "Your staying in here this time Mr. if I have to I'll have them restrain you to the bed, you are in here until the doctor signs off, and if I have to I'll become your damn doctor and I won't sign off until I think you've healed enough."

Jack smiled defeated, "Yes ma'am." He croaked. She grabbed the water from the side of his bed and helped him take a drink he thanked her and asked, 'Where is everyone?"

"The doctors told them to come back tomorrow you should be resting now."

"Haven't I rested enough? Is it time to go yet." Jack joked.

"When you feel up to it dad," She corrected herself, "Robert is sitting out in the waiting room. I guess he's been here since they brought you in."

Jack's smile faded he didn't want to talk to him after all he had done in the past few days. He was willing to let Jack die instead of pay some money. Jack not only risked his life once, but multiple times to save the mans family and in the end he decided jack would be a acceptable lost.

Cindy noticed this and she sat down again, "Jack listen to me please." She didn't believe her father deserved anyone to stick up for him, but he was human and humans made mistakes. "I don't know about your past. But I do know him and this was not him. The choices he made the past few days have not been him. I don't know what go into him, maybe the pressure or fear. Not everyone is as good as you dealing with the fear and pressure of this world. I don't expect you to forgive him, but at least give him a chance to talk to you. For yourself if not anyone else, try to resolve the past. You have to know by now the ghost of the past always haunt you until you face them."

Jack looked away from her. He understood what she had said, but he didn't know if he was capable of forgiving. The weak can never forgive, Jack remember the quote from Gandhi well, Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. He was not one to forgive and forget he remembered what he had done to Nina. But maybe it was time to stop running from the ghost maybe it was time to face them to let the closet air out. He couldn't' turn his back on them now they knew he existed. He couldn't turn his back on Kelly who he knew even after learning about all the things he told her she still looked up to him. He was still her hero, he might not feel like one and he might hate himself, but maybe just maybe everything was for the greater good. The means might not justify the ends, but he had made wrong decisions himself, and he had wanted to be forgiven for them. It didn't mean he had to take Robert back in his life full time or even part time, but he could forgive the man. Finally after what seemed like forever Jack said, "Ok."

Cindy smiled, "Now how about I hear your life story?"

"Got a few years." Jack joked.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." She joked.

"Deal you start." Jack said with no intention of ever spilling his life story.

"Sorry Jack I've heard and learned some interesting things about you and I know you will only have me tell mine and than leave me hanging."

"Who told you this Chase?"

"Your own daughter turned you in Jack." Cindy smiled.

Jack smiled he was so proud of Kim. He started out from his years in the army purposely leaving his childhood out. Cindy took notice of this, but she understood he would leave information out and one day when he was comfortable with her he would tell her that story. When he got to Nina and Teri Cindy grabbed his hand gently. Robert stood in the doorway no one took notice he listened to the story all the way up to the Salazars and Jack killing Nina. When Jack finished he looked at her half expecting her to run out of the room disowning him, but she did the direct opposite she smiled and said, "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. But you will have more people to help you. You have family now. Kim has family now. And we look out for each other."

Robert cleared his throat and both his children took notice of him. He walked in the room and looked at Cindy, "Will you please excuse us I need to talk to Jack in private."

Cindy smiled and said, "I'll be in the waiting room if you need anything." She left the room and Robert stood uncomfortable at the foot of Jack's bed studying all the wounds.

"I'm sorry about dragging you into all of this. As sorry as I am I'm happy because none of us would have made it through if it weren't for you. Thank you very much for saving us on multiple occasions. And I am so sorry. I don't know what has gotten into me." Robert slouched into the chair all his energy gone. "I really don't know how I live with myself." He was almost in tears. "I have no right to be in your life. I know that now. I never had any right to even think about talking to you. I am so sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, if I were you I'd try to kill me, but you are a better man than I am." Robert looked at Jack and said, "I'm sorry Jack."

Jack didn't know what to say he was still angry with Robert and he had to let some stuff out so he started the drugs completely wearing down any walls he usually had up, "You know when my mother called you and begged you to let me live with you, you knew she was dying. I heard the conversation. She had taken to this other man because she couldn't afford raising me by myself and you wouldn't take me and she wasn't going to give me up. Everything was fine until she started working because he got laid off. He laid into me every day for anything. It could have been I got a B in a class or I didn't do as well as he expected me to in a game, or the fact that I had a mother or anything. After she got sick it got a lot worse. He expected me to provide for the family. I was afraid to leave because of my mother. She had bagged you to take me because when she got sick she got to see and hear it all first hand. I remember one night I came home late for supper because I had to work over, we were way behind on rent and it had to get paid someone. I walked in tired, I had practice in the morning because I had to continue baseball, than class's, a baseball game, than directly to work. I got home I was an hour late, but I had called to tell them I had to work over. I walked into the room and he was drunk.

He walked up to me and asked, "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry I had to work over at work. Mr. White needed someone to finish unpacking the shipment and I got volunteered. I called." I didn't see the punch coming and it damn near knocked my head off. My mom screamed as I feel to the ground dazed. She screamed for him to leave me alone, but he picked me up off the ground. I barely stood on my own to feet I was so dazed. I felt the blood dripping down the side of my face. He hit me in the stomach hard knocking the wind out of me." Jack's voice was as if he were in a far away place as he relieved the memory. "My mom got up, she wasn't suppose to be moving around she was to weak and she walked over to stop him as he had started to kick me as I lay on the ground. He told her to sit back down or she'd get it next. He had stopped kicking me and I begged her just to go back into the room. She didn't she went after him and he knocked her down. I tried to get up but he kicked me in the ribs so hard I'm sure he broke a few." Jack paused remembering the next part a few tears escaped his eyes at the memory of his mother and her face as she had to watch.

"He grabbed an electric cord yanked it right from the lamp. He threw it in the oven and turned the oven on. I was to dazed to know what was going on. My mom watched him as he put the oven gloves on. He walked over and grabbed me off the ground. He had me take my shirt off and lean against the wall my palms against the wall and my back to him. I knew what was coming, and did nothing to stop it. I was too afraid he'd turn on my mother."

Robert sat listening tears coming to his own eyes as he hated himself more and more now knowing what Jack went through.

"He used the chord like a whip almost. It tore into my back as well burnt it. I screamed so loud and he laughed so hard, but he had to shut me up eventually so he walked leaving me there to get something. He tapped my mouth shut and laid back into me until I finally crumbled to the ground. But he didn't stop he just kept hitting me with the host cord over and over until my back was a bloody mess. You would have thought I would have passed out eventually but I didn't. When he finished he sat me in a chair and made me eat right there and than. When I finished eating he walked me back to my room." Jack paused. "he laid into me some more back there. I held the screams in for my mom's sake. When he finished he threw me on the bed used the duct tape to secure my wrist and feet afraid I'd try to kill him in the night. He threw me on my back, and I cried out in pain from the burns and cuts and my hands pushing against them along with the blankets. He laughed putting a pillow over my head and he almost killed me trying to suffocate me. I stopped struggling and he stopped pushing the pillow down.

He warned me, "Keep your mouth shut or your mom will enjoy some of this." I heard him walk into the other room and she screamed at him. But he wasn't happy enough with the damage he had done. I heard her scream for him to get off her, than I heard her cry as he." Jack stopped. He continued skipping that part of the story, "When he finished he came back to the room and cut my wrist free as he heard the neighbors scream they were calling the cops. He warned me again not to open my mouth to them or we would get worse. When the cops came I played it off like nothing happened and the injuries I got were from a fight I had a few days ago. They cops insisted on talking to me on my own but I continued with the same story afraid of what he'd do to my mother. I wanted to run away, but I was afraid for her. Who would be his punching bag when I was gone? She died a weak later. And it didn't get better but by than I was to scared to run away he had some magical power in my mind I was sure he would track me down anywhere I went." Jack looked at Robert and saw a torn man standing in front of him, part of Roberts expression actually helped Jack let go of the memory.

"I'm so sorry. I know that's not enough it never will be. I didn't know. It's all my fault. I don't know what to say, I can't make it up." Robert was almost bawling as he spoke he didn't know how to make it better and he hated himself so much he was ready to take his own life. "I'll be there for you now though. Whenever you need me or anything I will be there. I know I didn't show that, and never have, but I'm going to now. And I understand if you never come calling, but just know I'm there now and I won't turn my back again. I'm so sorry."


	13. Chapter 13

To see the end of this story and more please go to:

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